“Little MARTA” Visit Brings Museum Professionals Together at The Lost Shtetl Museum

In 2025, a new initiative for the Lithuanian museum community, “Little MARTA,” was launched. It provides an opportunity for museum professionals to learn from one another, share best practices, and collaboratively explore new ways to strengthen and improve museum work.

On June 4, our museum hosted the third “Little MARTA” gathering, titled “How Do We Talk About Difficult Memory? Challenges and Solutions in Creating Exhibitions and Displays.”

The event began with a guided tour of the museum’s permanent exhibition led by curator Živilė Tamulionytė, who invited participants to explore the stories of Jewish life in Šeduva in greater depth.

The second part of the program focused on exhibition-making practices and visitor engagement. Sandra Petrukonytė, Head of the Exhibition Department at The Lost Shtetl Museum, presented the museum’s accessibility strategies, discussing both successful approaches and ongoing challenges. Exhibition curator Inga Makarkova then shared insights into the process of creating interactive visitor experiences and the solutions developed throughout that work.

The event concluded with an inspiring presentation by Auksė Petrulienė, founder of the community space Little Histories and exhibition curator at the M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art. Drawing on her research into the history of Kaunas factories, she introduced participants to the principles of researching community histories and developing exhibitions based on them.

During the discussion that followed, participants explored ways of addressing difficult, sensitive, or uncomfortable memories in museums and exhibitions. Together, we reflected on how important stories can be preserved and how museums can help ensure that they continue to be heard and understood today.

We would like to thank all “Little MARTA” participants for their active engagement, thoughtful contributions, and sense of community.