Museum@goethe

Innovation, flexibility, participation, future viability – Museum work and the role of museums as social actors are increasingly in the focus of interest. In this area the Goethe-Institut is incorporating new perspectives on cultural education and international cooperation into a variety of projects.

The general public is becoming increasingly aware of the potential offered by museums as places for democratic education, dialogue and social discourse with participation from diverse actors. On the basis of its robust network involving key figures within the museum and culture scene at local level, the Goethe-Institut firstly initiates its own projects, and secondly steps into the crucial role of intermediary between German and international partners as well as civil society organisations. In doing so, the Goethe-Institut is taking on a function that the individual institutions often cannot afford themselves.

The organisation has years of practical experience in cooperative and partner-oriented working approaches, during which time an ideal of international dialogue has been pursued, with the principle of learning from one another at its core. Capacity building in this context is neither a one-sided transfer of knowledge nor an export of existing models of museum practice, it’s a process of knowledge sharing between all parties, and the expression of a self-perception based on learning and unlearning. A dialogic encounter on an equal footing, which also reflects power relations, forms the foundation for the development of new museum practices and projects.

Current projects

  • Cultural education, Cultural Heritage, Museum practice

    Connecting the Dots

    The Connecting the Dots museum project (2023–2025) was conceived to strengthen community engagement with museums in Nigeria. Furthering critical discourse and art education was also significant to its mission. The project recognized museums as vital spaces for preserving and presenting societal history and culture and aimed to deepen their role as platforms for dialogue, reflection, and the reimagining of societal narratives.

    Connecting the Dots © Gift Osoiwanlan - Ile-Ife © Gift Osoiwanlan - Ile-Ife

  • Art Education, Colonial Heritage, Exhibition

    Once upon a time… the birth of the Staat Kamerun (1884 – 1914)

    The exhibition project “Once upon a time... the birth of Staat Kamerun 1884-1914” was initiated by the National Museum of Cameroon, doual’art and the Goethe-Institut in close collaboration with MARKK Hamburg, with the support of the German Foreign Office and Brot für die Welt for the World. For the first time, it opens a dialogue between historical facts, traditional objects and contemporary art dealing with the period of Imperial Germany’s violent intrusion into the territory of Cameroon.

    Once upon a time… the birth of the Staat Kamerun (1884 – 1914) © Studio XL - Staat Kamerun Dla - Oeuvre Alioum Moussa © Studio XL - Staat Kamerun Dla - Oeuvre Alioum Moussa

  • Art education, intergenerative Learning

    Across Generations – Learning from Art, Culture, and One Another

    What potential do museums offer to intergenerational and heterogeneous visitor groups? The Across Generations project takes the dialogue between generations as its starting point, develops new methods for educational work at museums and contributes to the necessary diversification and inclusivity of cultural institutions.

    National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens © Anna Primou © Anna Primou

Training courses and residencies

  • Capacity building

    SAWA Museum Academy

    The SAWA Museum Academy is the first consistent transcultural capacity building programme for career starters at museums in Arab-speaking countries and Germany.

    SAWA Museum Academy © Martina Kopp © Martina Kopp

  • Distance learning degree course

    Arts and Cultural Management (M.A.)

    The professional distance learning degree in Arts and Cultural Management, which is delivered in English, is aimed at cultural experts worldwide.

    Master Arts and Cultural Management Photo: Goethe-Institut/Loredana La Rocca Photo: Goethe-Institut/Loredana La Rocca

  • Training programme

    APIK – organising an exhibition in Indonesia

    How do I organise an exhibition? What do I have to consider? The APIK training programme prepares exhibition makers from Indonesia for the challenges encountered in this profession.

    APIK © Goethe-Institut Indonesien © Goethe-Institut Indonesien

Themes and discourses

  • Practicing Freedom

    The Afterlives of Objects

    With a series of events entitled The Afterlives of Objects we seek to inquire and interrogate publicly with and among different stakeholders, communities, artists and activist initiatives about the possibility of redress and awareness.

    Practicing Freedom – The Afterlives of Objects © Michelle Eistrup: Ntanga Zuzu (All Suns Forever), Opening in Huts | 2019 © Michelle Eistrup: Ntanga Zuzu (All Suns Forever), Opening in Huts | 2019

  • Museum Conference Rio de Janeiro

    REOPENING MUSEUMS: live on YouTube

    Two years after the devastating fire at the Museu Nacional/UFRJ in Rio de Janeiro a digital panel discussion is focusing on the risks and opportunities of reopening museum during the pandemic.

    REOPENING MUSEUMS: live on YouTube © Goethe-Institut © Goethe-Institut

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