This project saw students engaging with DERLA, the Austrian Digital Memory Landscape, and the “Jewish Life in Graz” exhibition at the Graz Museum. Students toured the Graz Synagogue and learned about Jewish persecution during the Nazi era, which led them to developing ideas for cultural remembrance and for creating individual monuments in public spaces around the town.

Pupils approached the project with empathy and commitment, gaining new perspectives on Jewish life in Graz and the local culture of remembrance. Ten mini projects were developed, each focusing on a different element of Jewish history in Graz and exploring how installations and visual artworks might bring this history to life.

Students developed ten different concepts that could be installed in various locations around the town and held a temporary exhibition at the museum, before focusing on the creation of one artwork. This became ‘The Fireman’, erected as a memorial and a symbol of remembrance of the night when the synagogue was burnt down by Graz National Socialists in November 1938.

Students showcased their initial project concepts to visitors at the Graz Museum, leading to a separate exhibition entitled “Remember me: How traces become monuments.” The artworks were displayed in front of the “Jewish Life in Graz” exhibition and the life-size version of ‘The Fireman’ was then installed, alongside an opening ceremony which was very well supported by the local community.