On Sunday, 24 March, the Kunsthalle Osnabrück invites you to a conversation format in Osnabrück. The conversation takes place as part of the International Weeks Against Racism. Lisa Marei Schmidt has been the director of the Brücke Museum Berlin since 2017.
First, there will be an introduction to the exhibition Whose Expression? The Brücke Artists in the Colonial Context.
Then, Lisa Marei Schmidt will lead a dialogue with the directors of the Kunsthalle, Anna Jehle and Juliane Schickedanz. They will discuss her approaches to a critical and at the same time appreciative practice for the collection of the Brücke Museum. The conversation will focus on the question: How can the strategy of dealing with the collection of the Brücke Museum be appreciative and simultaneously critical?
In addition to further examples, the focus of the conversation is on the exhibition Whose Expression? The Artists of the Brücke in the Colonial Context. This exhibition was on display at the Brücke Museum in 2021/2022. It showcased selected works by the artists of the Brücke. For many years, Germany was one of the largest colonial powers in Europe. [Many countries in Europe used to think that their inhabitants were worth more than the inhabitants of other countries. For example in Africa. That’s why they have the right to conquer these countries, to oppress and murder the people. They have determined the politics in these countries. And they stole many things from these countries. Art, for example. Spices. Raw materials. Or drugs. The European countries found: All this is their right. They could make the people in the colonies work for them as slaves. They have power over them.] Many of the works in the exhibition were created during this time. Therefore, the exhibition asks the question: Whose Expression? In what historical context were the works created? What is our view of it today? How do we engage with the colonial legacy today? And how does the Brücke Museum do it?
The museum team was also prepared for the exhibition. For this purpose, there was an internal training program. It was called Reflections. Colonial Heritage at the Brücke Museum. The program was intended to sensitize the team to the topic. [Sensitize means: The team was prepared for the topic. So that all employees know: These different opinions and these problems exist in context with the topic.]
