(RE)CONSTRUCTING MEMORY: THE VIRTUAL REVIVAL OF OKHTYRKA CITY MUSEUM OF LOCAL LORE

The visitor is first introduced to the virtual reality (VR) experience and given a brief onboarding to movement and interaction before entering a darkened virtual space.

At first, only fragments are visible: bricks, dust, and architectural details suspended in darkness. Slowly, the pieces begin to gather and assemble, forming the museum building.

As the structure materializes, the building itself begins to speak. Its voice is calm, heavy, and reflective. It introduces itself not only as a museum, but as something shaped by the region, tied to the city of Okhtyrka, and connected to generations of memory, preservation, and loss.

As visitors move through the museum’s exhibition spaces, the building guides them through fragments of its history and collection.

Interacting with objects, architectural details, and traces within the environment activates archival footage, ambient sounds, and memories connected to the museum and its community.

Throughout the experience, visitors encounter layered versions of the space across different moments in time. Rooms shift between preservation and destruction, while memory-like figures offer stories, reflections, and hints that guide exploration.

Through small acts of discovery, such as locating missing artifacts or uncovering hidden details, visitors gradually piece together their own understanding of the museum’s significance.

As these memories accumulate, the museum reveals itself not only as a container of heritage, but as a witness to conflict, cultural identity, and survival.

As the experience comes to an end, the museum falls quiet. The visitor is left within the space as traces of voices, memories, and archival fragments slowly fade around them.

Having moved through moments of preservation, loss, and reconstruction, the visitor is invited to reflect on what cultural heritage means in times of conflict and what it means to preserve the memory of a place that may no longer physically exist.

Before leaving the experience, visitors are given the opportunity to share a reflection, either within the physical exhibition space or through a digital message left for future participants. In doing so, their own response becomes part of the museum’s continuing memory.