From May 2021, the Deichtorhallen Hamburg will participate in the international exchange and learning programme "TheMuseumsLab". This will lay another important foundation stone for the global opening of the exhibition institution.
House of Photography
Photo: Henning Rogge/Deichtorhallen Hamburg
The aim of the "TheMuseumsLab" programme is to build a practice-based community and a platform for joint learning in exchange between African and German art and cultural institutions. Internationally networked experts from art, culture and science institutions share their expertise in an open transcultural discourse. Around 25 participants from more than ten African countries and 20 participants from ten German museums are taking part in the programme. In addition to the Deichtorhallen Hamburg, the Museum am Rothenbaum - Arts and Cultures of the World (MARKK) Hamburg, the Centre for Art and Media (ZKM) Karlsruhe and the Städel Museum Frankfurt are among the German museums participating.
"The Deichtorhallen is pleased to be able to participate in this innovative exchange format and to enter into a lively intercultural dialogue between African and German colleagues. We hope that the contacts will contribute to an even better understanding of Africa's young art scene and that they will be able to flow into our multi-perspective exhibition programme in the coming years," says Dirk Luckow, artistic director of the Deichtorhallen Hamburg.
After an online seminar phase in the summer with all participants, the presence phase of the African scholarship holders will take place in the respective German houses in autumn 2021. In October, Janine Gaëlle Dieudji, exhibition director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Africa Al Maaden (MACAAL) in Marrakech, will intern at the Deichtorhallen and participate in the entire exhibition process across all departments:
"I believe in the power of art and culture for social change. It is also our duty as artists, curators and cultural practitioners to advocate for inclusive spaces and platforms that welcome and foster a sense of belonging in the community. I am honoured to be part of this innovative programme that helps shape international dialogue about art and culture towards improved intercultural interactions."
This targeted networking of museum and exhibition operations with exchange institutions is intended to pool skills and make them accessible and experiential across continental borders in a common pool of knowledge. The expansion of cooperation with international museums and cultural institutions is at the centre of this.
One example of this is the far-reaching cooperation with the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art (Zeitz MOCAA) on the William Kentridge exhibition "Why Should I Hesitate: Putting Drawings To Work", for which a large-scale digital symposium addresses the significance of the political, the overcoming of colonial continuities and the interrelation of music and art in the work of William Kentridge.
For the 8th Triennial of Photography Hamburg 2022, an international curatorial team led by Koyo Kouoh has been assembled to curate the city-wide exhibition project "Currency".
Furthermore, in cooperation with the Sharjah Art Foundation and the collection director and curator Omar Kholeif, the Deichtorhallen is planning a presentation of the important collection with works from the Middle East and South Asia.
Following on from the exhibition "Secret Signs" on the Uli Sigg Collection shown in the Deichtorhallen in 2014/15, further exhibitions of Asian art are being planned in cooperation with the Museum M+ Hong Kong.
In this context, the Deichtorhallen are currently participating in the project "German-Chinese Museum Talks" initiated by the Goethe-Institut to expand international cooperation and joint exhibition planning between Chinese and German art museums.
ABOUT "THEMUSEUMSLAB
"TheMusemsLab" was initiated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (Leibniz Institute) and the Master's programme in Museum Management and Communication at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences (HTW) in close cooperation with the African network of advisors "The Advisors". TheMuseumsLab is funded by the Federal Foreign Office (AA) in cooperation with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM).
