Wissen um 11: Von großen Worten und kleinen Gesten – Zum Umgang mit der Sammlung aus Namibia im Übersee-Museum

Knowledge at 11: Of big words and small gestures - On the handling of the collection from Namibia in the Übersee-Museum

Lecture by Silke Seybold

The Übersee-Museum's ethnographic collection comprises around 1500 objects from Namibia. Many of the artifacts were taken from their society of origin during the German colonial period and came to Bremen either directly or via detours. For decades, the historical context and the question of how the collectors acquired the objects played no role in the museum's work. The tide turned with Herbert Ganslmayr, the director of the Übersee-Museum from 1975 to 1989. He not only initiated a general debate on restitution, but also supported the anti-colonial solidarity movement in Bremen and the founding of the Bremen Africa Archive.
What has happened to and with the collection from Namibia at the Übersee-Museum since then? Insights into the use and presentation of the collection, impressions of contacts with people from Namibia and information on provenance research ultimately lead to the question: What does this mean for the future? Based on current provenance research on a collection from Togo and Ghana, ideas and wishes will be outlined.

This lecture will take place exclusively as a face-to-face event.

Followed by a spoken word performance in the exhibition area

💡"Wissen um 11", the science matinee in Bremen, in which exciting and current topics from science are presented every Saturday at 11 a.m. in thirty minutes and occasionally filmed and published on our YouTube channel. Free admission.

More information here: https://www.hausderwissenschaft.de/Von-grossen-Worten-und-kleinen-Gesten-Zum-Umgang-mit-der-Sammlung-aus-Namibia-im-Uebersee-Museum.html