Wie Geschichte(n) ausstellen? Kuratieren im Wandel. Programm zur Ausstellung "Hin und weg. Der Palast der Republik ist Gegenwart"

In the organizer's words:

"That's history", that "belongs in a museum". What is often said disparagingly about the past is the central starting point of museum work. Museums are seen as the cultural memory of our society. Their task is to preserve cultural heritage and make history understandable.

Ruth Rosenberger (contemporary historian and digital expert at Haus der Geschichte, Bonn), Joachim Baur (cultural scientist at TU Dortmund University) and Anke Schnabel (curator of the exhibition Hin und Weg. The Palace of the Republic is Present, Humboldt Forum) look at the tension between telling history, the inclusion of different voices and the communication of knowledge in conversation with Nhi Le (presenter and journalist at NDR).

In the exhibition Hin und Weg. The Palace of the Republic is Present at the Humboldt Forum focuses on the extraordinary predecessor building of the GDR. There are many different views of the Palace of the Republic, as various contemporary witnesses report in the exhibition. At the same time, museum makers always have their own personal view of history. No exhibition is objective, free of value judgments and conveys pure knowledge.

How and what is exhibited, how the past is organized, narrated and connected to our present, and which approaches are used to look from the past into the future (and vice versa) is a broad field. The event is dedicated to the question of whether a history exhibition is only an information medium that conveys knowledge about our past, or whether it also tells history for entertainment purposes. Who should be involved in the development of such an exhibition and to what extent should people be involved in the process? Should it adapt to the viewing habits of the zeitgeist or should it survive change as a "rock in the surf"?

CONTRIBUTORS

Joachim Baur is a curator and Professor of Empirical Cultural Studies at the Institute for Art and Material Culture at TU Dortmund University. Together with Katrin Pieper, he has been running the office "Die Exponauten. Exhibitions et cetera" in Berlin(www.die-exponauten.com). Numerous exhibitions, most recently Über/Sehen. Image Regimes of Migration (Duisburg 2023), Moving Things. On the Materiality of Flight and Migration (Göttingen 2022), Räume des Wissens. The Basic Exhibition at the Forum Wissen Göttingen (2022), Das Kapital. 150 Years of Critique of Political Economy (Museum der Arbeit Hamburg, 2017/18). He teaches and researches on representations of migration, analyses of material culture, the history and future of the museum, curatorial theory and practice. Most recently, he organized the conference "Das radikaldemokratische Museum revisited"(www.radikaldemokratisches.museum) with Nora Sternfeld. He has been on the board of ICOM Germany since 2023.

Dr. Ruth Rosenberger is a contemporary historian and proven digital expert in the cultural sector. She studied history and German language and literature and received her doctorate under Prof. Lutz Raphael at the University of Trier. After working as a researcher at the university and in the field of research and corporate communications, she began building up the digital division of the Haus der Geschichte Foundation in 2010. Since 2017, the Digital Services department has included the online editorial team, the contemporary witness team, media production for all exhibitions and IT. Ruth Rosenberger is a member of the Advisory Board of the Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg and the International Advisory Board of the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation.

Anke Schnabel is a curator in the program team "The Palace of the Republic is Present". Born and raised in West Berlin, she has worked as a historian for museums and memorials for over 20 years, including the Jewish Museum Berlin and Museum Neukölln. She has been working for the Humboldt Forum Foundation since 2015 and was most recently responsible for the project "Remembrance Work at the Humboldt Forum" and was a curator in the team for the special exhibition "Hin und weg. The Palace of the Republic is Present".

Presenter Nhi Le is a journalist, speaker and moderator. Her work focuses on society, digital media and pop culture. In 2020/21 she wrote "The Female Gaze" column for the Süddeutsche Zeitung, from 2021 to 2023 Nhi Le was a trainee at Norddeutscher Rundfunk.

Partner is the eCommemoration program of the Körber Foundation

- free of charge, no ticket required

- Language: German

- Mechanical arena in the foyer

- Belongs to: Without end palace, There and away

"That's history", that "belongs in a museum". What is often said disparagingly about the past is the central starting point of museum work. Museums are seen as the cultural memory of our society. Their task is to preserve cultural heritage and make history understandable.

Ruth Rosenberger (contemporary historian and digital expert at Haus der Geschichte, Bonn), Joachim Baur (cultural scientist at TU Dortmund University) and Anke Schnabel (curator of the exhibition Hin und Weg. The Palace of the Republic is Present, Humboldt Forum) look at the tension between telling history, the inclusion of different voices and the communication of knowledge in conversation with Nhi Le (presenter and journalist at NDR).

In the exhibition Hin und Weg. The Palace of the Republic is Present at the Humboldt Forum focuses on the extraordinary predecessor building of the GDR. There are many different views of the Palace of the Republic, as various contemporary witnesses report in the exhibition. At the same time, museum makers always have their own personal view of history. No exhibition is objective, free of value judgments and conveys pure knowledge.

How and what is exhibited, how the past is organized, narrated and connected to our present, and which approaches are used to look from the past into the future (and vice versa) is a broad field. The event is dedicated to the question of whether a history exhibition is only an information medium that conveys knowledge about our past, or whether it also tells history for entertainment purposes. Who should be involved in the development of such an exhibition and to what extent should people be involved in the process? Should it adapt to the viewing habits of the zeitgeist or should it survive change as a "rock in the surf"?

CONTRIBUTORS

Joachim Baur is a curator and Professor of Empirical Cultural Studies at the Institute for Art and Material Culture at TU Dortmund University. Together with Katrin Pieper, he has been running the office "Die Exponauten. Exhibitions et cetera" in Berlin(www.die-exponauten.com). Numerous exhibitions, most recently Über/Sehen. Image Regimes of Migration (Duisburg 2023), Moving Things. On the Materiality of Flight and Migration (Göttingen 2022), Räume des Wissens. The Basic Exhibition at the Forum Wissen Göttingen (2022), Das Kapital. 150 Years of Critique of Political Economy (Museum der Arbeit Hamburg, 2017/18). He teaches and researches on representations of migration, analyses of material culture, the history and future of the museum, curatorial theory and practice. Most recently, he organized the conference "Das radikaldemokratische Museum revisited"(www.radikaldemokratisches.museum) with Nora Sternfeld. He has been on the board of ICOM Germany since 2023.

Dr. Ruth Rosenberger is a contemporary historian and proven digital expert in the cultural sector. She studied history and German language and literature and received her doctorate under Prof. Lutz Raphael at the University of Trier. After working as a researcher at the university and in the field of research and corporate communications, she began building up the digital division of the Haus der Geschichte Foundation in 2010. Since 2017, the Digital Services department has included the online editorial team, the contemporary witness team, media production for all exhibitions and IT. Ruth Rosenberger is a member of the Advisory Board of the Haus der Geschichte Baden-Württemberg and the International Advisory Board of the Federal Chancellor Willy Brandt Foundation.

Anke Schnabel is a curator in the program team "The Palace of the Republic is Present". Born and raised in West Berlin, she has worked as a historian for museums and memorials for over 20 years, including the Jewish Museum Berlin and Museum Neukölln. She has been working for the Humboldt Forum Foundation since 2015 and was most recently responsible for the project "Remembrance Work at the Humboldt Forum" and was a curator in the team for the special exhibition "Hin und weg. The Palace of the Republic is Present".

Presenter Nhi Le is a journalist, speaker and moderator. Her work focuses on society, digital media and pop culture. In 2020/21 she wrote "The Female Gaze" column for the Süddeutsche Zeitung, from 2021 to 2023 Nhi Le was a trainee at Norddeutscher Rundfunk.

Partner is the eCommemoration program of the Körber Foundation

- free of charge, no ticket required

- Language: German

- Mechanical arena in the foyer

- Belongs to: Without end palace, There and away