In the Beginning was the Belt at the Municipal Museum Braunschweig: Ethnography, Colonial History, and New Perspectives
Date and Time
Location
Price
About this Event
Mood
Venue Type
Ethnological Traces, Colonial Questions, an Exhibition Experience with Depth
In the Municipal Museum Braunschweig, this presentation opens a clever, multifaceted view of ethnographic collections, provenance, and colonial contexts. The exhibition is designed as a redesign of the ethnological permanent exhibition and links historical objects with contemporary questions of museum responsibility. Admission is free; museum opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM. ([braunschweig.de](https://www.braunschweig.de/kultur/museen/staedtisches-museum/artikelpool-temporaer/ethno-dauerausstellung.php))
Provenance as a Starting Point for Object Consideration
The central impulse of this exhibition lies in the critical engagement with collection holdings from colonial contexts. A starting point is, among other things, the research on the patron belt of OvaMbanderu leader Kahimemua from present-day Namibia, an object that, according to the museum's presentation, was stolen by German colonial masters. Thus, the exhibition focuses not only on an individual exhibit but also on the entire history of collecting, preserving, and interpreting. ([braunschweig.de](https://www.braunschweig.de/kultur/museen/staedtisches-museum/artikelpool-temporaer/ethno-dauerausstellung.php))
Five Thematic Rooms, Many Perspectives
The exhibition is divided into the thematic rooms Connected, Travel Souvenirs, Other Images, Colonial Heritage, and Further Thoughts. This structure provides a precise museum parcours that conveys the themes of travel, trade, war, appropriation, and contemporary reflection. This creates an exhibition that does not appear static but rather as a processual ensemble that is continuously expanded with new voices and research findings. ([braunschweig.de](https://www.braunschweig.de/kultur/museen/staedtisches-museum/artikelpool-temporaer/ethno-dauerausstellung.php))
Objects with Global Influence
Highlighted pieces include a ritual drum as a souvenir of a Braunschweig soldier from the American War of Independence, an Afro-Portuguese salt vessel from West Africa, and further testimonies of global intertwining. These items particularly illustrate how strongly Braunschweig's collection history is connected to global mobility, colonial history, and scientific other-images. ([braunschweig.de](https://www.braunschweig.de/kultur/museen/staedtisches-museum/artikelpool-temporaer/ethno-dauerausstellung.php))
Museum Education and Cultural Education
Visitors to the exhibition experience not just a sequence of objects, but a pedagogically and historically refined art experience. The institution explicitly sees its ethnographic collection as an object of ongoing research and collaboration with originating communities. This is precisely where the exhibition derives its current relevance and special exhibition atmosphere. ([braunschweig.de](https://www.braunschweig.de/kultur/museen/staedtisches-museum/artikelpool-temporaer/ethno-dauerausstellung.php))
Conclusion
In the Beginning was the Belt is an exhibition for all who appreciate museums as places of critical knowledge and aesthetic experience. Those who engage with this presentation encounter not only fascinating objects but also a sovereign, contemporary engagement with history, responsibility, and memory. A visit to the Municipal Museum Braunschweig is definitely worth experiencing live. ([braunschweig.de](https://www.braunschweig.de/kultur/museen/staedtisches-museum/artikelpool-temporaer/ethno-dauerausstellung.php))
Official Channels of the Municipal Museum Braunschweig:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/staedtischesmuseumbraunschweig/
- Facebook: no official profile found
- YouTube: no official profile found
- Website: https://www.braunschweig.de/kultur/museen/staedtisches-museum/artikelpool-temporaer/ethno-dauerausstellung.php
