Since its foundation, the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn has pursued the goal of not only conveying art and culture, but also as a place of encounter, reflection and social activity. However, can the Bundeskunsthalle become a place that all people, regardless of their social or educational class, can perceive and use as space for conversations and participation? What are the possibilities for democratic co-determination in the museum? These questions will be discussed with a group of 35 randomly selected residents from Bonn.
On two weekends in November 2023, the members of the Gesellschafts-Forum will discuss this together and develop recommendations and ideas on how the Bundeskunsthalle should develop on behalf of the people of the city and other visitors, in order to remain a relevant, inviting, inclusive and diverse public place of encounter and cooperation. The expert report developed is to be taken into account by the management of the museum in future planning and decisions.
Together with the parallel Social Forum of the Kunstgewerbemuseum der Staatliche Kunstsammlung Dresden (SKD), the Gesellschafts-Forum itself is part of a democratic experiment: In May 2024, the co-productive exhibition of the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn and the SKD “Along – Shaping Democracy” opens, in which new ideas for more democracy are dealt with and traditional forms of codetermination are examined. The processes and results of the advisory boards are presented in the exhibition and checked in the respective institution.
The nexus Institute organizes both company forums. This includes the development of the concepts, the management of the meetings as well as the moderation of the discussions and results. At the same time, an ongoing exchange between the two processes is ensured.
Duration: 07/2023 – 03/2024
Client: Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Bundeskunsthalle) in Bonn
Team: Ina Metzner (Projektleitung), Dr. Christine von Blanckenburg (Beratung und Moderation), Wiebke Blum, Katharina Fender, Felix Schürhoff
Photo: Peter Oszvald, Bernd Lammel, 2020 – Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany GmbH