BOTIN Reloaded - Eine performative Lesung nicht abgeschickter Nachrichten

Some messages are never sent. The annoyed email to a coworker, the late-night message to a neighbor, the secret love letter to a crush who’s already taken. There’s a place for these messages.

BOTIN—The Archive for Unsent Messages —will once again open its collection exclusively at three locations in Cologne starting in the summer of 2026.

Last year, BOTIN collected unsent messages via both an analog and a digital mailbox. The result is a moving collection of nearly 100 messages, including numerous letters to ex-partners, mothers and fathers, teachers, prosecutors, and aliens. The shortest message consists of two words and was addressed to an asshole; the longest is three typewritten pages long and was intended for a coworker. The oldest message dates back to 1993.

Starting this summer, the archive will be touring Cologne: In a performative reading featuring three actors and a musician, the archive offers insights into human trials and tribulations. This gives voice to what has gone unheard until now. Visitors become stand-in recipients and also sponsors of numerous messages—perhaps even of a message that is closer to them than they realized…

Dates

• July 11, 2026, as an interactive, open performance, 5:00–8:00 p.m., as part of the Miteinander NEUmarkt Köln program

• October 13, 2026, 7:30 p.m., duration approx. 1 hour,Interim of the Central Library, Hohe Str. 68–82, 50667 Cologne (Tickets available HERE)

• December 15, 2026, 7:30 p.m., duration approx. 1 hour,Literaturhaus, Großer Griechenmarkt 39, 50676 Cologne
  (Buy tickets HERE)

Mailbox

What message have you never sent—or perhaps never even written? Because it was too angry, too late, too embarrassing, or simply too vulnerable?
Take your unsent message out of the drawer, out of the past, or even just out of your head, and drop it in our mailbox to let it go once and for all. 

You can find BOTIN’s digital mailbox on the official website: 

Team

Philine VelhagenConcept & Direction
Karen Bentfeld Performance
Justine Hauer, Performance
Jonas Relitzki, Performance
Benedikt FuchsMusic & Sound Design
Cordula KörberCostumes
Laura VennesPR & Marketing (Un-Label)
Nils RottgardtProduction Manager (Un-Label)
Kai Kullen, Graphics
Béla BisomProduction/Administration (Drama Köln)

A production byDrama KölnandUn-Label, in cooperation with theCologne City Library, theLiteraturhaus Köln, and the Miteinander NEUmarkt project. Funded by the City of Cologne’s Department of Cultural Affairs.