Participating in the curation of exhibitions is a regular part of our activities. Serving as critical companions for exhibitions is a skill we have developed over the years. Working on the workshop exhibition project, Exhibiting.Omissions: Objects from Tanzania and the Colonial Archive with the Humboldt Forum from 2021 to 2024 has been a valuable learning experience for our team, as the topic of restitution, repatriation, and reparations of heritage resources in Africa is both sensitive and controversial.
Apart from the short video we produced, we participated in the production of the workbook of the project. Both the film and the workbook serves a reference to our contribution not only to the heritage resource discourse, but opening discussions to many visitors who visits Tanzania form Germany and Europe
The collection of the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin includes around 10,000 objects attributed to present-day Tanzania. Many of these objects were acquired, often through violent means, during the German and British colonial rule. The workshop exhibition, Exhibiting.Omissions. Objects from Tanzania and the Colonial Archive, aims to question, remember, and reconsider the museum’s objects and their stories. Who did these objects originally belong to? What untold or ignored stories do they hold? Should these objects still be displayed in Berlin today? What omissions and hidden aspects do we encounter when reflecting on these issues?
The exhibition addresses the problematic colonial and racist past of the objects through various sections. For instance, four display cases featured original objects from the former colony of “German East Africa” replaced with “surrogate objects” by contemporary artists. This approach allows sensitive objects to gain visibility and be viewed through a new, contemporary lens. Omissions and gaps in archives and historiography are also highlighted, marked by blank text boxes and pink-colored fields.
The curatorial team in Berlin explored sensitive objects from Tanzania in this exhibition, following a consultation process with a team of critical companions. Serving as a preparatory event for a collaborative project, the exhibition concluded with a presentation curated jointly with the National Museum of Tanzania. The viewpoints of various partners and the curatorial team’s new research findings will be integrated into the exhibition as it progresses.
Tourism Innovation Hub (TIHUB) Moshi - Tanzania