Lest We Forget is a major grassroots arts and heritage initiative that aims to archive, preserve, and share vernacular photographs and oral histories of the UAE. First launched by a group of Emirati female students at Sheikh Zayed University, the initiative’s goal was to kick-start a national archival project that would encourage Emiratis to share their family stories.
GSM Project was brought on board to help adapt the project to the exhibition context. We designed and built a highly interactive temporary exhibition for Lest We Forget, which helped launch Warehouse421, a new arts and culture destination located in the revitalized Al Mina district of Abu Dhabi.
In recent decades, the development of Abu Dhabi has taken an enormous leap. Although the history of the region can be traced back almost two millennia, the traditional nomadic way of life left few material traces. This exhibition was about preserving individual memory, which stands at the core of local heritage in this fast-changing landscape. It fulfills this mandate by featuring a selection of vernacular photographs spanning over 49 years.
A workshop-type space was created at the heart of the exhibition, a nod to the university context where the Lest We Forget project took shape. In it, three custom-designed interactive games brought the art of archiving, sorting, and tagging photographs to life, shining a playful light on a subject that could otherwise be considered dry.
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