Monuments and Sites de-colonial! Methods and Strategies of Dealing with the Architectural Heritage of the German Colonial Era

November 3-4, 2023
Munich
Germany

International Conference, 3-4 November 2023
Vorhoelzer-Forum, Technical University of Munich/Germany

(Arcisstr. 21 80333 Munich/Germany and online)

Organizers: ICOMOS Germany and Technical University of Munich
Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM)
Registration required (limited number of seats, online link): https://forms.gle/QbCkJF6RXRXgeGPG9
Homepage: icomos@icomos.de
Further Information Contact: michael.falser@tum.de
The Programme Folder can be downloaded here.

Monuments and Sites de-colonial! will be dealing with the architectural relics of the German colonial era and investigating post-colonial strategies of appropriation and critical communication regarding these buildings. In addition to references to pre-colonial legacies, the focus lies primarily on the period of the German colonial era from around 1880 to 1920. The spectrum of case studies will refer both to the territory of the German Empire itself at the time, as well as to the former German colonies in Africa, East Asia and the South Pacific.

With regard to the identification, systematic inventory and visualization of colonial-era individual buildings and ensembles, of monuments and even entire cities and infrastructural landscapes, as well as of today’s commemorative and memorial sites and places, the focus of interest is primarily on the political, civic and architectural / artistic forms of appropriation on site and the strategies of dealing with them in terms of scientific methodology and monument conservation.

The two-day symposium, with an introduction, 6 sessions with 23 papers of altogether 35 speakers and a final wrap-up discussion, intends to increase the visibility and knowledge of this architectural heritage from the German colonial era and to promote dialogue with today’s custodians or those concerned on site.

The conference is a cooperation between ICOMOS Germany (Homepage) and the TU Munich (Project Homepage). Selected papers will be published after the conference in the series ICOMOS – Journals of the German National Committee.

The organizing committee: Tino Mager, Gabriele Horn, John Ziesemer (ICOMOS Germany), and Michael Falser (TU Munich).

The full conference programme, taking place from Friday, November 3 – Saturday, November 4, can be found here.

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