The Shadow Museum, a collective of young people seeking alternative approaches to the museum institution for several years, is now exploring the history of former “contract workers” from the so-called “brother countries” of the GDR together with sideviews. From the perspective of aliens, the young people examine how the then “brother countries policy” affects current societal issues such as racism and discrimination, based on their life experiences and the exhibition Echos der Bruderländer at the House of World Cultures (HKW). The artistic research of the Shadow Museum is presented at the HKW as an interactive, playful, and extraterrestrial symposium.
Foto sideviewsFoto sideviewsFoto sideviewsFoto Jamila GroteFoto Jamila Grote
By/with Laith Azimi, Anna Bartels, Lou Braun, Romy Drieschner, Mariama Juric, Sharon Morane Momo, Elis Nägele, Phanuel Nlend Nlend, Elijah Sagor, Elona Sagor, Anja Scheffer, Moritz Scheffer, Cem Yildiz and the contemporary witnesses Mavinga P. Petrasch, Wilma Florath, Monika Kegel, Anja Paetsch
The project Hey Siri! What is a Curator? was initiated in 2019 as an artistic laboratory: 50 children and young people explored, questioned, and identified their personal expectations, experiences, and interests using artistic methods in collaboration with the Berlinische Galerie, a museum in Berlin. They opened up practical fields of action, understood as an experimental space between museum and school. A variety of interactive experiments, instructions, and suggestions invite engagement with a work, the museum, and its visitors.
The SIRIBOX
The SIRIBOX emerged from this project. It is the result of the collaborative research process and contains all the experiments and interactive instructions created by the children. Each SIRIBOX is a unique piece. The experiments can be taken out of the box individually and tried out. The SIRIBOX was handcrafted in a limited edition of 40 copies. We view the essays, memories, reports, and experiments contained within the SIRIBOX as both a critical examination and a constructive commentary on the collaborative practice.
In this sense, the narratives open up pathways to reconsider why certain people visit museums while others do not. They can serve as starting points for discussions to reflect on and further develop current educational practices, as well as inspire the use of the space between museum and school as an experimental field for exploring new ways of engagement.
ACTIVATION of the SIRIBOX
The Schattenmuseum conducts performative tours with the SIRIBOX in museums/exhibition spaces, in German and/or English. These tours are suitable for both children and adults. The tours have already been successfully held at several institutions, including: HKW/House of World Cultures, KW-Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin), BerlinBiennale, Berlinische Galerie, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art (Aalborg, Denmark), Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Haus Bastian / Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin.
If you are interested in activating the SIRIBOX at your institution, feel free to contact us!
In 2021, the SIRIBOX was further developed in collaboration with KW-Institute for Contemporary Art (Berlin) and the sideviews project Schattenmuseum (Shadow Museum) into a digital app. The SIRIBOX mini can be used not only in exhibition spaces but also in urban areas. You can download the SIRIBOX mini for free here:
The original SIRIBOX is available upon request for those interested. Applications are reviewed by the Schattenmuseum (Shadow Museum). Contact information and some SIRIBOX owners can be found here:
