PRESS INFORMATION
7 OCTOBER 2020

Highlights of the Opening Year(in chronological order)

History of the Site
The Humboldt Forum is a new building with a history. The History of the Site section
presents 800 years of historical and structural developments in four permanent exhibitions
spread over a total area of 1,500 square metres. A 28-metre-long video panorama allows
visitors to visualize the various aspects of the History of the Site. The Palace Cellar contains
the sole surviving original fragments of the medieval Dominican monastery, as well as thecellars of the Berlin Palace, which were uncovered in 2008. Original figures and architectural
sculptures from the Palace facades are exhibited in the Sculpture Hall. 35 Traces distributed
around the Humboldt Forum also recall key historical events and uses of the site, with afocus on the Palace of the Republic.
The Humboldt brothers
The brothers Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt inspired the name of the Humboldt
Forum. Their integrated thought processes, along with their curiosity and open-mindedness,have greatly influenced the direction taken by the Forum. The approaches we take to thebrothers reflect their diversity: there is Alexander von Humboldt, who, concerned with local
and global correlations, observed the links between mankind and nature. Then we have
Wilhelm, whose preoccupation with numerous languages is regarded as forming the basis
for taking a comparative outlook on people, their cultures, and their thought. This compact
exhibition casts a spotlight on their work and the times in which they lived while seeking
points of connection to the principles of the Humboldt Forum.

Have a Seat! An exhibition for children

When do we sit, and where, why and how? How are welcoming gestures, conventions or rank
expressed? And what kinds of seating orders apply in groups and societies? Have a Seat! An
exhibition for children provides space for the youngest visitors aged three to ten to playfully
discover and learn all about sitting in various cultures. This first special exhibition sets thetone for the programme as a whole: children will be among the first people to find a place forthemselves in the Humboldt Forum. This thematically arranged exhibition showcases

original historical exhibits, reconstructed hands-on objects, and areas that visitors can codesign, offering scope for thinking together about communal living in various cultures.
After Nature: Inaugural Exhibition of the Humboldt Lab
Humans have left their mark on every ecosystem, on the earth’s atmosphere, and even on thedeepest geological layers of the planet. This is the background to After Nature, the exhibition
with which the Humboldt University inaugurates the Humboldt Lab. The exhibition shows
how the relationships between political systems and nature are responsible for thistransformation, and inversely how issues concerning the environment and resources exert
immense influence on all political systems. Scientists from a range of disciplines will discuss
the dramatically changing relationship between humans and the environment as well as thechallenges to liberal social systems posed by phenomena such as nationalism,authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism and social movements.

BERLIN GLOBAL
With BERLIN GLOBAL, the Stadtmuseum Berlin and Kulturprojekte Berlin show a network ofrelationships between Berlin and the world in a space of about 4,000 square metres. The
exhibition does not provide a chronological account of Berlin’s history. Instead, large-scaleinstallations in seven thematic rooms make the city’s stories tangible: Revolution, Free
Space, Boundaries, Entertainment, War, Fashion and Interconnection. Cross-sectional topics
such as colonialism or National Socialism are taken up throughout the exhibition. An
interactive tour invites visitors to express their own opinions and take action. With aparticipatory approach that included consultation and cooperation with experts, museums,interest groups and communities, as well as new collaborations with several artists, theexhibition reflects a broad spectrum of perspectives on the city.

2Hybrid formats for dialogues and lectures
Every Thursday, the Humboldt Forum will open a space for critical discussion in which adialogue or lecture will be presented not only live but also digitally and interactively. It willbe through these series of critical discourse, that the building transforms into a Forum. Theseseries are dedicated in turn to the challenges facing ethnographic collections, explanations ofscholarly discourses, or current socio-political issues. As the first inclusively designed
publication at the Humboldt Forum, the sensory book Vom Kloster zum Humboldt Forum.
700 Jahre Geschichte und Architektur. Ein Buch zum Tasten, Sehen und Hören (FromMonastery to Humboldt Forum: 700 Years of History and Architecture – A Book to Touch,
See and Listen to) is also set to try out an inclusive digital format.
Cultural education – opening the workshop spaces
Education, learning and scholarship are core tasks for the Humboldt Forum. With this inmind, a network of diverse activities is to be spread throughout the entire building, aimed atgroups and individual visitors of all ages. There will be tours, talks, and artistic, participatory
and scholarly projects on offer. In addition, special initiatives and workshops will make theHumboldt Forum an open and social venue for reflection and discussion for diverse
audiences. One focus is on the workshop spaces on the first floor, in an area measuring 1,000square metres that is specifically designated for education, communication and events.
Moreover, even before the workshop spaces open, knowledgeable museum educators will beon hand to answer visitors’ questions and give insights into the Humboldt Forum project andits central concerns, particularly the building’s history and architecture.
Terrible Beauty. Elephant – Human – Ivory
Ivory polarizes. As early as 40,000 years ago, people were creating the oldest known art
objects from tusks. Yet ivory also stands for injustice and violence, slavery, and colonial
exploitation. The Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss is coming together with theStaatliche Museen zu Berlin and the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin to stage a special
exhibition where visitors can find out all about this complex history, complete witheducational activities and a series of accompanying events. The aim is to present theintriguing association between the cultural and historical significance of ivory and theaspects concerning natural history, along with the socio-ecological consequences of its use asa raw material. In this respect, the exhibition will also establish a link to the objects in thewest wing from the collections of the Ethnologisches Museum and the Museum für AsiatischeKunst, which will go on display from late summer onwards, and provide a wider perspectiveon the history of their reception.

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Moving the Forum. Our bodies – our positions – our dance
The dance and community project led by Jo Parkes and Jana Lüthje brings together Berlinbased professional dancers and groups of amateur dancers for a joint artistic activity over aperiod of several months. It encourages people to access the Forum via performative
research and movement within its spaces, thereby approaching the Humboldt Forum froman unconventional perspective. As a participative artistic project at the intersection ofcontemporary dance and fine art, it works by utilizing the museum’s spaces for a
performative and architectural appropriation of rooms which will be both partially empty
and partially filled with objects. The choreographic works will ultimately be performed
throughout the entire Humboldt Forum.
Ethnologisches Museum and Museum für Asiatische Kunst
From late summer 2021
With around 20,000 exhibits spread over 14,000 square metres on the second and third
floors of the Humboldt Forum, the collections of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, which areof global significance, are presented in an overview of the world’s art and cultures that spans
epochs and continents. In late summer of 2021, part one of the collection will be opened: thewest wing will feature the renowned boats and houses from Oceania, reconstructed Buddhist
cult caves from the region around the Silk Road, the exhibition space dedicated to Japaneseart, complete with walk-in teahouse, as well as parts of the Africa collection. At the end of2021 and start of 2022, the east wing will also open. Highlights will include holdings fromthe central and southern Andes, the history of the Afro-Brazilian diaspora in the Amazon
region, Khmer art, and the global diversity of Islam.

The exhibits and sound documents presented from the collection of the Ethnologisches
Museum place the focus equally on material and immaterial heritage. The themes highlightedinclude the history of the collection, religious questions, contemporary art, and thesignificance of artisanal techniques, rituals, ceremonies and the perspectives of Indigenouscommunities. As part of this process, the museum will also critically engage with the legacyof colonialism and the role of Europe. The Museum für Asiatische Kunst will present art andartisan craftwork from the fifth millennium BCE through to the present day: East Asian
painting, calligraphy and graphic art, lacquer art and ceramics, art and culture from the SilkRoad, South Asian and South-East Asian, Hindu, Buddhist and Jain sculptures as well as
Indian painting from the Moghul era.

4PRESS CONTACTS

Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss
Press and Public Relations Department (Programme, History of the Site, Have a Seat! An
exhibition for children)
Bernhard Wolter, Head of the Press and Public Relations Department+49 30 265 950-230, bernhard.wolter@humboldtforum.org

Michael Mathis, Press Officer+49 30 265 950-525, michael.mathis@humboldtforum.org
Mirko Nowak, Head of Marketing and Opening Communications+49 30 265 950-520, mirko.nowak@humboldtforum.org
humboldtforum.org/en/press-room
Ethnologisches Museum and Museum für Asiatische Kunst
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Stefan Müchler, Press Officer (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin within the Humboldt Forum)+49 151 527 515 84, s.muechler@hv.spk-berlin.de
Timo Weißberg, Press Officer Dahlem+49 30 266 42 6803, t.weissberg@smb.spk-berlin.desmb.museum.de; preussischer-kulturbesitz.de
Berlin Exhibition
Kulturprojekte Berlin and Stadtmuseum Berlin

Franziska Schoenberner, Press and Communications, Berlin Exhibition+49 30 24749-750, f.schoenberner@kulturprojekte.berlin
kulturprojekte.berlinberlin-global-ausstellung.deHumboldt Lab
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Boris Nitzsche, Press Consultant Humboldt Lab+49 30 2093-2945, boris.nitzsche@hu-berlin.dehumboldt-labor.de/en5