The House of European History collected objects relating to the Brexit process, from the 2016 referendum until the withdrawal agreement in 2020, for its collection and permanent exhibition. The aim was to preserve evidence about this significant moment in EU history for future generations, and to make it publicly available to all European citizens.
Specific efforts were made to balance the sentiment of the objects, from both the Remain and Leave campaigns. Towards the start of the collecting action, a curator travelled to London, UK on the referendum day itself, 23 June 2016, to obtain objects in situe.
Curators from the House of European History team also contacted potential contributors, such as British politicians in the European Parliament, European Commission and Council of the EU, as well as non-governmental organisations involved in the referendum campaign, for donations of items such as:
- personal, official or protest materials - representing all aspects of the debate
- banners, posters
- commemorative gifts, flags and other, similar objects
Any kind of object, however trivial it seemed, could help document this event in the future exhibition.
The collecting action resulted in over 200 objects being acquired, with the majority from the UK and Belgium. A selection are highlighted in detail on our Online Collection.
