In the page's words:

3 questions for Nanette Snoep

You have been Director of the RJM since January 2019: What does the RJM stand for today?

The RJM has long had a reputation for being a museum that has never concealed its colonial past, has worked in an interdisciplinary way and has always built bridges to the present in its exhibitions. Impressive examples of this are of course the internationally renowned, culturally comparative exhibitions such as "Intoxication and Reality" (1981), "The Bride" (1997), "Men's Alliances" (1998) under the direction of Dr. Gisela Völger (1979-2000) or "Namibia Germany" (2004), the first exhibition to focus on the German colonial period in Namibia and thus also on the genocide of the Herero and Nama, but also the new permanent exhibition inaugurated in 2010 under the direction of the then director Dr. Klaus Schneider (2000-2018) sheds light on the history of the RJM's collection and its colonial heritage. An important symbolic step in the repositioning of ethnological museums was the restitution of a mummified head to New Zealand in 2018. Over the past two years, we have tried to make many voices heard. Lectures by and discussions with personalities such as Felwine Sarr (Senegal), Ciraj Rassool (South Africa), Amber Aranui (New Zealand), Achille Mbembe (Cameroon), Esther Muinjangue (Namibia) and Bénédicte Savoy (France) have helped to open up the museum even further. In December 2019, the open space DIE BAUSTELLE was created for exchange and socializing, in September 2020, a series on object histories and provenance of the RJM collection was launched with "The Shadows of Things #1" and the major special exhibition RESIST! The Art of Resistance focuses on 500 years of anti-colonial resistance with objects from the collection, historical documents and more than 40 participating artists and activists.

What should the ethnological museum of the future do?

The ethnological museum of the future is a place of conversation. It works transparently. The active and inclusive participation of artists, scientists, clergy, activists, members of the diaspora and, in particular, descendants of the societies that created the objects in the RJM's collection is essential. It was to become a place where multi-layered knowledge and ideas about our world are united. A place where transcultural dialog is actually understood as a two-way conversation. It should build bridges and ask how knowledge has been created, adapted, accepted, rejected, integrated or ignored over the past centuries. The ethnological museum of the future should be a place where the stories of globalization, encounters, confrontations and interdependencies are conveyed and where uncomfortable topics such as colonialism and its effects as well as racism are brought into focus. Last but not least, a museum of the future must enable learning and "unlearning" as well as aesthetic experiences, emotion, curiosity and empowerment.

What is your personal wish for the RJM?

Only if we actually open our doors will we be able to address social changes. This requires flexibility to explore these new, unknown paths and to allow other ways of thinking. Museums should create space for speaking and listening, for networking, togetherness and solidarity.