News
Dear visitors,
You no longer need a test, vaccination or convalescence certificate to visit the RJM. Wearing a medical mask is also no longer compulsory from now on, but is still recommended.
We also advise you to observe the general hygiene rules and to keep a safe distance of at least 1.5 metres.
Thank you for your understanding. We look forward to seeing you!
Your RJM team
#standwithukraine
We show solidarity!
The entire team of the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum is dismayed by the Russian government's war against independent Ukraine, which violates international law. Our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people who are experiencing endless personal suffering there. Their country is being taken away from them and with it their collective and individual culture of memory. At the same time, we think of Russian artists who are exposed to the arbitrariness of an autocrat.
The Nigerian artist Peju Layiwola has been dealing with looted cultural objects from the Kingdom of Benin for decades. "Benin 1897" is the name of the autonomous space that Peju Layiwola has curated for RESIST! The Art of Resistance.
„Eine Gruppe junger Tänze*innen führt mit ihrer eigenen Interpretation der Kunst des Widerstands durch „RESIST! Die Kunst des Widerstands“. Regisseur Young-Jean Maeng schafft mit seinem Einblick in die Fragmente aus 500 Jahren antikolonialen Widerstand, koloniale Unterdrückung und ihre Auswirkungen bis heute eine Momentaufnahme der experimentellen Ausstellung, der diese überdauern wird. Die virtuelle und durch die Choreographie ausdrucksstark geführte Begehung von „RESIST!“ nimmt den Kampf der Menschen, die auf unterschiedlichste Weise Widerstand geleistet haben und deren Geschichten bis heute kaum erzählt oder gehört werden, auf.“
Why restitution matters
Saturday, 9.7, 2 p.m.
We warmly welcome a royal delegation from Bangwa (Cameroon) this coming Saturday, 9 July. Together with H.M. Asabaton Fontem Njifua, important representatives1 of the Bangwa will travel to Cologne to discuss the restitution of cultural treasures that were stolen during German colonial times. The discussion focuses on a sacred Bangwa sculpture that is still in the museum's collection.
Why is it being reclaimed? What is causing its absence in the Bangwa region? What should happen to it now? These and other questions will be discussed during this public discussion. Join us and have your say. Restitution affects us all!
Saturday, 9.7, 2 p.m., VHS Forum at the RJM, admission free
RESIST! CONVERSATIONS ALL IN ONE: available on our YouTube channel
What contradictions are embedded in the foundations of the "ethnological museum"? How can we transform them and create new museum ethics for the future?
In the context of the exhibition RESIST! The Art of Resistance, an experimental exhibition about 500 years of anti-colonial struggles in the Global South, the RJM invites you to an evening of discussions with international speakers and fighters. Restitution, reparation and participation are at the center of the debate.
With Felwine Sarr (Senegal), Ciraj Rassool (South Africa), Nana Oforiatta Ayim (Ghana), Bénédicte Savoy (France), Andreas Görgen (Germany), Peju Layiwola (Nigeria), Esther Utjiua Muinjangue (Namibia), Ida Hoffmann (Namibia), Elizaveta Khan (Germany), Uyi Nosa-Odia (Nigeria). Moderated by Ahmet Rahab Njeri (Germany). Music by Rokia Bamba (Belgium).
The debate is available online on our RJM YouTube channel!