he Central Martyrs’ Museum in Tehran is the largest cultural repository in Iran containing personal artifacts and arts belonging to individuals who perished during the Islamic Revolution (1979) and the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88). Based on an analysis of this museum, its layout and display objects, and interviews with its staff and visitors, this presentation explores the institutionalization and aesthetizication of trauma and violence in a post-revolutionary Iranian context. It also aims to expand and challenge prevailing theoretical approaches to the concept of the “museum.”

Christina Gruber is a professor of Art History at the University of Michigan.