30.09.2022
Dahlem
Workshops, backstage tours and a science slam: over the next few years, the Forschungscampus Dahlem will take shape at the Dahlem museum precinct. On 7 October 2022, FC Dahlem will open its doors to the general public for the very first time to host an activity day. Under the slogan “It’s Time!”, visitors are invited to stop by from 2 pm to get to know the diverse activities that will take place at FC Dahlem.
The Dahlem museum precinct has a rich history: for many years, various branches of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin presented their exhibitions here, functioning as a significant tourist magnet. With the reunification of Germany and the construction of the Humboldt Forum in the Berliner Schloss, both the function and layout of the Dahlem museum precinct – with its striking buildings by Bruno Paul and Fritz Bornemann – have been transformed. The displays of the Ethnologisches Museum and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst were closed to the public in 2017. The Museum Europäischer Kulturen, though, remains a highly active player on the scene there.
Today, research plays a major role in Dahlem. For two years now, a group of seven institutions from the SPK cosmos – made up of the Ethnologisches Museum, the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, the Museum Europäischer Kulturen, the Institut für Museumsforschung, the Kunstbibliothek, the Rathgen-Forschungslabor and the Ibero-Amerikanische Institut – has been looking at the question of how research can be made more accessible to the public.
The outcome is the Forschungscampus Dahlem, through which the SPK offers the public a glimpse into the engine room: How does research work within a cultural institution? How does a museum storage facility work? What happens when objects are restored? Who are the people behind the research outcomes? At the same time, this location will also provide a home for research that transcends disciplinary divides, research that values all forms of knowledge, takes participation seriously, and sees dialogue with the public as an opportunity. All of this will be organised around the four keywords of cultures, research, objects and knowledge. The programme of the activity perfectly reflects this diversity.
Venue: Lansstrasse 8, 14195 Berlin
At the activity day, visitors can participate actively in an exhibition workshop on “Time and Temporality”, or develop their own visions for FC Dahlem, building models for the future. Two workshops invite audiences to approach the topic of time by way of the senses: What does taste have to do with time? Has the smell of money changed with the passing of time? Some of FC Dahlem’s cooperation partners will also present their work, such as the TU Berlin, with its project “Reconfiguring the Past”. As well as this, backstage tours will offer visitors a glimpse of places like the Dahlem inspection and restoration workshop, with its various stations. And finally, in a science slam, visitors can find out more about the current research projects of the participating museums and institutions, as well as the work of some of the external partners. And last but not least, the activity day also marks the launch of the exhibition project Reunited: Visting the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 1992–2022.
