How to explain history to was a series of public conversations between Virginia Colwell and Cuban historians about what a foreigner should know about the history of Cuba. The conversations detailed the idiosyncrasies of Cuban contemporary history, issues with archives and historical methodology, the role of legend and secret, revolutionary orthodoxy and censorship.

 

Alongside How to explain history to, Colwell produced a series of works, Questions for the Public, which used the form of pendants, banners, and standards to ask how we can converse in public about delicate issues concerning the past.  

 

These sculptures, waiting to be carried in ritual gatherings, in parades, or in protest, inquire: What does a foreigner know abouthistory? Do we teach collective memory? How do we listen to the past of others? Is there a common historical language? How do we talk about the past? Where do we begin?