Bringing heritage to life and passing it on: an interview with Julie Waseige

A portrait ofJulie Waseige, art historian, who turns estates, objects and stories intoliving legacy.

Julie Waseige is an art historian(graduate of the Université libre de Bruxelles, 2012), specialising in modernBelgian art and Surrealism. After working as a researcher and scientificassistant at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, where she handled theday-to-day management of the Magritte Museum, she became an independent arthistorian in 2016. She is the author of several books on René Magritte andSurrealism, published by Skira, Ludion, Hazan and Taschen. She has curatedmajor international exhibitions, including Magritte. La Ligne de vie (Lugano and Helsinki) and Magritte. A Labof Ideas (Skärhamn). She was also a historical consultant for the documentaryRené Magritte. Le maître du mystère (Seven Doc, 2023). Between 2019 and 2020,she served as scientific director of the Marcel Mariën Foundation. A member ofthe international cultural network SALOON since 2019, she is today a culturalcolumnist at the RTBF and co-founder of Retrace, a heritage-promotion agencycreated in 2021 with Annabelle Oliva (www.retrace.agency).

Could you introduce yourself and explain what your profession involves, ormore broadly your day-to-day mission?

I’m an art historian bytraining. With my partner Annabelle Oliva, an archaeologist whom I met atuniversity, we created Retrace almost five years ago. Retrace was born from arealisation: many people or institutions own a heritage — whether family histories,businesses, collections or buildings — but don’t know how to tell its story orhow to pass it on. Yet often, at the point in their lives when they want toshare this memory, they find themselves at a loss faced with the archives orthe stories to be structured. Our role is precisely to make this memory aliveand transmissible. It can take very different forms: a book, an exhibition, awebsite, a film… Each project is unique and adapts to our clients’ wishes andneeds. We define ourselves as a heritage-promotion agency, because our strengthis bringing together the right profiles around each project. Annabelle and Icarry out the research and writing, but we also work with a network of graphicdesigners, videographers, printers, set designers and specialised experts tocreate a real “dream team” suited to each story. In short, Retrace is the art of turning aheritage into a story, and a story into living legacy.

If you had to take justone object with you, what would it be? And why?

A dictaphone! Because I’m a great traveller,more of a backpacker, and I love getting off the beaten track. What Ilove about travelling are the encounters with local communities and theconversations you can have with them. For example, a year ago, Annabelle and Iwere in the Marquesas Islands. It’s an incredible territory, often overlooked,which is in fact a genuine open-air museum: you find archaeological sites every15 metres. There, we metpassionate locals who fight to preserve and share their culture. The dictaphonelets me keep a record of these exchanges, these stories, and enrich myunderstanding of the world.

How have you managed your valuables and their documentation so far?

I was made aware of the conservation ofartworks very early on, since I specialised in the work of René Magritte. Thattaught me a real rigour in the way I manage valuable objects. For example, Imyself acquired a small work on paper: last summer, rather than staying in myoverly hot apartment, it “travelled” to a place where the conservationconditions — temperature, humidity — were ideal. It’s anecdotal, but itillustrates my rigour well. With Retrace, it’s the same approach: we apply amethod worthy of a museum or a public institution, but in the service ofprivate clients. Whether it’s an inventory in a château, family archives orworks of art, we put in place precise, scientific management. But what is justas important is the way we present this research: our clients don’t need athousand-page report with footnotes. Our role is to turn this academic rigourinto accessible, clear and appealing stories, so that their heritage can trulybe passed on.

“Retrace is the art of turning a heritage into a story, and astory into living legacy.”

Is an object’s value financial or emotional? Do you have an example?

For me, the number-one value isthe sentimental one. That’s what I love to find in our clients, especially whena collector tells me they buy above all on a whim, without looking only at therating or the price. Of course, there’s a logic of speculation, and some chooseto place works in a vault. But what really lasts, what we pass on, are theobjects that touch us personally. I think, for example, of my grandmother’s ring, which I receivedrecently. It’s not a piece of great financial value, but it’s an object I willkeep and cherish all my life. And that’s exactly it: art and objects havemeaning above all when they carry an intimate story, an aesthetic shock, anemotion. It’s this human dimension that, in my eyes, is the true value.

What advice would you givepeople in managing their estate, and in particular their objects?

Many of our clients know they have a heritage,but don’t know where to start. To help them, two years ago we created the“project definition” workshop. It’s a two-to-three-hour session, a bitlike coaching. Beforehand, the client receives a questionnaire to reflect ontheir story and their wishes. Then,during the workshop, we explore the possible avenues together. At theend, they leave with a clear report and, if they wish, a proposal forcollaboration — but with no obligation. With a very reasonable initialinvestment, it makes it possible to clear the ground and find out what’spossible in terms of time, budget and personal energy.

I really recommend this workshop to those whofeel they have a story to pass on but hesitate to take the plunge. Becausesometimes you have to act fast: we work, for example, with a client who istoday the living memory of his family. When these stories disappear with ageneration, it’s an irreparable loss. And I say this from a very personal pointof view too: every family has a story to tell. I lost both my grandfathers whenI was a teenager, and I regret not having asked them questions. They had bothbeen part of the Resistance during the war… I would have loved them totell me themselves, to explain their stories, their choices, their memories. At15, I didn’t have that awareness. Fortunately, archives remain, but it’s notthe same thing. That’s why I often say: even if it’s not with us, take adictaphone, record your loved ones, use a family dinner to ask questions. Because these stories are what shapethe generations that follow.

“We work, forexample, with a client who is today the living memory of his family. When thesestories disappear with a generation, it’s an irreparable loss.”

You tested Objectory —what do you think?

What struck me immediately was the simplicity:I didn’t get lost in the app, I didn’t feel like I was going round in circles —and that’s something that often annoys me with this type of tool. I think it’san excellent tool that meets a real need. The challenge will mainly be to winthe trust of those who use it, but if that trust is there, it can really be agame-changer. Because day to day, when you work with collectors, finding papersor gathering all the information about a piece is often complicated.

Here, the fact of centralising everything inone place, of having all the data immediately accessible, is a time saver andreal peace of mind. I think it’s going to make life easier for a lot of people— and I wish you every success in winning over as many hearts as possible.

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