The Peace of Westphalia was concluded 375 years ago. The Peace of Westphalia ended the 30-year war with two peace treaties. To mark this anniversary, the Kunsthalle Osnabrück is doing a research and exhibition project. In cooperation with the internationally renowned artist Ibrahim Mahama. Ibrahim Mahama comes from Ghana. Among other things, the project also tells the story of the linen trade in Osnabrück.
From July 8 to October 1, Ibrahim Mahama draped the former Galeria Kaufhof building in Osnabrück’s city centre with fabrics. The cover consists of different materials: strip weave fabric , garments collected in Ghana called batakaris, and jute sacks.
TRANSFER(S) explores the many trade routes between Central Europe and West Africa, past and present. Osnabrück had long been one of the most important regions in Westphalia where fabrics were produced. Among other things, Osnabrück was well-known for the production of linen fabric. This fabric became known as “true born Osnabrughs”. The fabric had been produced in Osnabrück for a very long time. Traces of it date back to the fourteenth century. This linen was used, among other things, to make clothes for forced labourers on the plantations of the West Indies. [A plantation is a large farm with many fields. Things like rice, tobacco or tea are grown on plantations]. The linen fabric was also used as a means of exchange for prisoners from the coastal areas of Africa.
The former Galeria Kaufhof building also has a diverse history. There are plans to use the building differently in the future. The Hotel Germania, which was destroyed in the Second World War, used to stand on the site. It is known from Erich Maria Remarque’s novel “The Black Obelisk”. In 1955, the Merkur department store opened on this site. The building has thus been part of the city’s history, and war and post-war experiences are thus linked to global trade and power relations through Mahama’s art. The building is currently being converted by the Hamburg-based project developer Home United. From 2024 on, the cross-community space “Osnabrücker Ding” [The Osnabrück Thing] will open there. [A cross-community space is a place for everyone. A place for meetings and exchange, for work and new ideas]. The departments of “Art/Art Education” and “Textile Design” of the University of Osnabrück will also be located there.
It is not possible to enter the building during the exhibition. But our mediation team invites you to free guided tours regularly on Thursdays from 18:00 and Saturdays from 14:00 until the end of the exhibition period. The meeting place for the Ice Cream Café Talks is the Eiscafé Dolomiti (Neumarkt 6, 49074 Osnabrück). Selected tours take place with experts. You can find more information and individual dates here.
This year, Ibrahim Mahama is the artistic director of the Ljubljana Biennale of Graphic Arts. His work has been included in numerous international exhibitions such as the Sharjah Biennial 15 (2023), the 22nd Biennale of Sidney (2020), the 56th and 58th Biennale di Venezia (2015, 2019), the 6th Lubumbashi Biennale in the Democratic Republic of Congo (2019) and documenta 14 (Kassel, Athens, 2017). Various diverse major solo exhibitions have featured the work of Ibrahim Mahama, including Garden of Scars, oude kerk, Amsterdam (2022); In-Between the World and Dreams, University of Michigan Museum of Art (2020); Parliament of Ghosts, The Whitworth, University of Manchester (2019); a straight line through the carcass of history. 1918-1945. 2015-2018, daadgalerie Berlin (2018); Coal Market, Schloss Strünkede, Emschertal-Museum Herne (2018); Fracture, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel (2016).
TRANSFER(S) was curated by Bettina Klein and Kwasi Ohene-Ayeh. Funded by the TURN2 Fund of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation). Funded by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media). Funded by the Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur and the Deutsche Akademische Austauschdienst e. V. (DAAD). With the support of Kulturhauptstadt Europas (European Capital of Culture) Chemnitz 2025. The project is supported by Koch International Heinrich Koch Internationale Spedition GmbH & Co KG, GOLDBECK Parking Services GmbH as well as by Home United as the developer of the “Osnabrücker Ding” in the former Galeria Kaufhof building.