22.04.2022
James-Simon-Galerie
The German-language board game Taskforce: Saving Antiquities takes players behind the scenes of cultural heritage protection. On 2 May 2022 the project team will present the game in the James-Simon-Galerie on the Museumsinsel Berlin.
Who is involved in the protection of cultural property? What skills are needed when the authenticity of an object needs to be verified? Who researches the history of the object? Taskforce: Saving Antiquities is a cooperative board game that simulates the scope of action and decision-making structures fundamental to working with cultural assets and artefacts. By playing the game, players learn about complex processes ranging from preservation to restitution.
Visitors will have the opportunity to try out this game in the afternoon. They can also test their knowledge in the area of cultural property protection in a moderated quiz. In the evening, project organisers invite visitors to attend an open discussion with experts. Starting at 6 pm, Markus Hilgert (Kulturstiftung der Länder, aka the German Federal Cultural Foundation), Silvelie Karfeld (Bundeskriminalamt, German Federal Criminal Police Office), Robert Kuhn (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) and Irene Pamer-Gatzsche (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kulturgutschutz e.V., German Society for Cultural Property Protection) will discuss the social relevance of cultural property protection, their work protecting cultural property, and the importance of seeking and pursuing new ways to spread the word about this important topic.
The game is complemented by a website (online since September 2021) and was developed as part of the Saving Antiquities project. Its participants include the Berlin Antike-Kolleg, the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung (Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection) – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the Game Design course of study at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences (HTW Berlin).
Saving Antiquities aims to raise awareness about the complexities of dealing with archaeological cultural assets and to elucidate the different interest groups and their fields of activity. The project is realised by experts from the fields of cultural heritage protection, game design and science communication. Participants include the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin University of Applied Sciences and the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.