Koloniale Sammlungen gemeinsam neu denken: Ein Forschungsprojekt zwischen Deutschland, Mali und Frankreich

Conference and discussion with the project members of the PROBAMA provenance project

The Museum am Rothenbaum - Kulturen und Künste der Welt (MARKK) is organizing a final workshop of the international research project PROBAMA on 15 and 16 June 2026 in Hamburg. The workshop brings together researchers from partner institutions in Germany, France and Mali. The focus is on central questions of provenance research on museum collections that were created in a colonial context, based on a comparative analysis of museum holdings and historical archives.

The PROBAMA project examines the conditions of the collection, movement and documentation of objects classified as "Bamana" between 1880 and 1914, which are kept in the MARKK and the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, among others. Particular emphasis is placed on the collections assembled by the German ethnologist Leo Frobenius during his expeditions to West Africa (1907-1909) and on objects collected around 1900 by French military, colonial administration and scientific actors.

The comparative analysis of these collections enables a critical examination of acquisition practices, networks of actors and the political and scientific conditions of their creation. The workshop will also focus on methodological approaches to provenance research, working with archives and current forms of cooperation between European and African institutions.

PROBAMA project members will present key research findings and then discuss current challenges in dealing with colonial collections with the audience.

Program

In the morning:
Scientific conference, Zwischenraum | MARKK

09:30 - 11:30 a.m. | The ProBama project in the context of provenance research

11:45 - 13:00 | Comparative perspectives on Bamana collections

Presentations by invited experts
11:45 - 12:00 | The term "Bamanaya" in anthropology
Dr. Jean-Paul Colleyn, EHESS (Paris)

12:00 - 12:15 | In search of Bamanaya in archaeology and history
Dr. Nikolas Gestrich, Frobenius Institute (Frankfurt)

12:15 - 12:30 | Reflecting on the Himmelheber Archive: Joint research and curatorial practices between Abidjan and Zurich
Dr. Michaela Oberhofer, Museum Rietberg (Zurich)

12:30 - 13:00 | Open discussion
Moderation: Dr. Benoît de l'Estoile, (MQBJC)

Evening:
18:30 - 19:15 | General overview of the project context, challenges of provenance research, cooperation between Germany, France and Mali
Dr. Gaëlle Beaujean, Prof. Dr. Barbara Plankensteiner

19:15 - 19:30 | Screening with Dr. Chéhibou Coulibaly

19:30 - 20:30 | Panel discussion with the audience
Participants: inside: Dr. Chéhibou Coulibaly, Dr. Hélène Ivanoff, Dr. Benoît de l'Estoile, Aziz Sandja
Moderator: Dr. Richard Kuba