How do historical power dynamics shape our present? And what responsibility does an art institution bear for its own history?
As a former Prussian naval port, Wilhelmshaven is deeply intertwined with the history of German colonialism. After the Archipelago. Begegnungen mit Wilhelms Hafen uses this historical entanglement as an opportunity to take a critical look at the history of its own institution, which was founded in 1913 as Kaiser-Friedrich-Kunsthalle. Throughout the exhibition, the Kunsthalle seeks to function as a space for critical discourse in civil society.
For the first time, the exhibition displays historical photographic records of the 1927 Wilhelmshaven Colonial Exhibition, along with related collection objects from colonial contexts, carefully selected from the archives of the Küsten museum Wilhelmshaven. These historical artifacts enter into a polyphonic dialogue with international positions in contemporary art that engage with the material and psychological legacies of colonialism. The presentation is accompanied by an intervention by Matthew Hansen, developed within the framework of Colonial Neighbours at SAVVY Contemporary.
Rather than displaying colonialism as a closed chapter of the past, the exhibition addresses it as an ongoing infrastructure of the present. Echoing the formation of an archipelago, diverse fragments, historical collections, and contemporary artistic positions are brought into dialogue to uncover both
historical connections and present-day absences. Conceived as an open space for resonance and an impulse for the city’s public, it makes no claim to completeness, but rather understands itself as an evolving process.
An extensive public program featuring guided tours, reading circles, workshops, and talks warmly invites visitors to bring their own perspectives and questions.
With: Binta Diaw I Oliver Hardt | Ibrahim Mahama | Christian Nyampeta | Emeka Ogboh
Intervention | Matthew Hansen, SAVVY Contemporary Contemporary
Kurator: Julien Rathje