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Humboldt Forum

Coordinates: 52°31′03″N 13°24′10″E / 52.51750°N 13.40278°E / 52.51750; 13.40278
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Humboldt Forum
Logo of Humboldt Forum
Berlin Palace
View of the Humboldt Forum in the rebuilt Berlin Palace (2023)
Map
Established2020
LocationBerlin Palace, Berlin, Germany
Coordinates52°31′03″N 13°24′10″E / 52.51750°N 13.40278°E / 52.51750; 13.40278
TypeArt museum
Collectionsnon-European art
DirectorHartmut Dorgerloh
ArchitectFranco Stella
Public transit accessU: Museumsinsel (U5)
Websitewww.humboldtforum.org/en/

The Humboldt Forum is a museum dedicated to human history, art and culture, located in the Berlin Palace on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It is named in honour of the Prussian scholars Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt. Considered the "German equivalent" of the British Museum,[1] the Humboldt Forum houses the non-European collections of the Berlin State Museums, temporary exhibitions and public events. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it opened digitally on 16 December 2020 and became accessible to the general public on 20 July 2021.[2]

History

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The Humboldt Forum incorporates two former museums, the Ethnological Museum of Berlin and the Museum of Asian Art. Both had their roots in the Ancient Prussian Art Chamber. The Ancient Prussian Art Chamber was originally established by Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg in the mid 16th century, but was nearly destroyed during the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). The art chamber was rebuilt as a magnificent collection by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, and was moved to the newly extended Berlin Palace by Frederick I of Prussia in the early 18th century. The Ethnological Museum opened in 1886 as a successor of the Ancient Prussian Art Chamber; the Museum of Asian Art originated as the Indian Department of the Ethnological Museum in 1904. Wilhelm von Bode, the Director-General of the Royal Museums in Berlin, established the Museum of East Asian Art as a separate collection in 1906. In 2006 the Museum of Indian Art and the Museum of East Asian Art were merged to form the Museum of Asian Art.

From 2020 the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art are both part of the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace.[3] By 2019, the Forum's overall costs totaled $700 million;[4] at the time, it was considered Europe's most expensive cultural project.[5] Its opening was initially planned for autumn 2019, then delayed to 2020[4] due to technical problems, including with its air conditioning system.[6] Delivery delays and the unavailability of workers during a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany pushed it back a few months further.[7][8] In April 2020, two tar cookers exploded at the construction site, injuring one worker.[6]

On 16 September 2022, the opening of the eastern wing, the last section of the Humboldt Forum museum, meant the Humboldt Forum museum was finally completed. It became Germany's currently most expensive cultural project.[9]

Building

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North and east facades of Humboldt Forum
Main article: Berlin Palace

The Humboldt Forum has its seat in the reconstructed Berlin Palace.[5][10] The foundation stone was laid by President Joachim Gauck in a ceremony on 12 June 2013.[11]

Museum

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On completion in 2020, the City Palace housed the Ethnological Museum of Berlin and the Museum of Asian Art, as well as two restaurants, a theater, a movie theater and an auditorium.[12] The project is led by a three-member management committee, chaired by founding director Neil MacGregor and also including the co-directors, archaeologist Hermann Parzinger and art historian Horst Bredekamp. The Foundation for the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace has been set up to create the museum.[13]

MacGregor has proposed to make the museum admission-free, based on the model of the British Museum.[14]

Collections

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The Humboldt Forum houses 4 major wings: America, Africa, Asia, Oceania. In edition to this it also has several other galleries, including the Humboldt Lab, the Berlin-Exhibition, Sounds of the World, and spaces for temporary exhibitions.

Controversies

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The Humboldt Forum came under criticism before and after its 2020 opening due to the museum's ownership of stolen art and other artifacts which were acquired from the German colonial empire and other European colonies in Africa and Asia, such as the Benin Bronzes.[15][16] In 2018, it was at the center of a debate about the legality of cultural heritage from former German colonies being put on display in Germany, drawing protests from activists and art historians including as Bénédicte Savoy, who alleged the museum had not done enough to research the provenance and failed to critically present objects originating from the Global South in its collection.[17][18]

In October 2024 the Forum announced to alter the lyrics of Udo Lindenbergs 1983 song Sonderzug nach Pankow in an upcoming choir performance. In 1983 Lindenberg had used the word "Oberindianer" to address East Germanies head of state Erich Honecker. The Humboldt Forum announced the word could be perceived as hurtful and racist by indigenous people and other visitors and will therefor be replaced. Critics like Wolfgang Kubicki saw a violation of Artistic freedom, while historian Hubertus Knabe said the Humboldt Forum was leaning towards a "far-left Cult" and stated that the people responsible should be voted out of office.[19][20]

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Images of the highlights shown at the Humboldt Forum:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Adams, Tim (17 April 2016). "Neil MacGregor: 'Britain forgets its past. Germany confronts it'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Berlin's newest landmark is ready and waiting" (Press release). Humboldt Forum. 16 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Berlin Humboldt Forum opens in stages". Deutsche Welle. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b Rogers, Thomas (13 June 2019). "Berlin's Troubled Humboldt Forum Pushes Back Opening". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b Scaturro, Michael (18 May 2015). "Berlin's rebuilt Prussian palace to address long-ignored colonial atrocities". The Guardian. London.
  6. ^ a b Schuetze, Christopher F.; Marshall, Alex (8 April 2020). "Explosion at Berlin's Humboldt Forum Puts Delayed Opening in Doubt". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Hickley, Catherine (16 June 2020). "Berlin's Humboldt Forum to open this year despite pandemic delay". The Art Newspaper.
  8. ^ Hickley, Catherine (7 October 2020). "Berlin's Humboldt Forum to open in phases beginning in December". The Art Newspaper.
  9. ^ "Completed Humboldt Forum opens in Berlin – DW – 09/16/2022". dw.com.
  10. ^ Peltz, Christiane (12 June 2015). "So verlief das Richtfest am Berliner Schloss" [Topping-out wreath ceremony at the Palace]. Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  11. ^ Alexander, Harriet (12 June 2013). "Berlin begins reconstruction of King Frederick the Great's palace". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  12. ^ Hickley, Catherine. "Berlin Palace Rebuilding Begins 63 Years After Explosion". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  13. ^ Bowley, Graham (12 October 2018). "A New Museum Opens Old Wounds in Germany". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  14. ^ Hickley, Catherine (3 November 2016). "Neil MacGregor unveils plans for Berlin's ambitious Humboldt Forum". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  15. ^ "No Humboldt 21". 3 June 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Humboldt Forum: Berlin museum opens despite criticism over looted art". BBC News. 16 December 2020.
  17. ^ Shaw, Anny (21 November 2020). "Black Lives Matter movement is speeding up repatriation efforts, leading French art historian says". The Art Newspaper. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  18. ^ Schuetze, Christopher F. (15 March 2019). "Germany Sets Guidelines for Repatriating Colonial-Era Artifacts". The New York Times.
  19. ^ Keilani, Fatina (30 October 2024). "Udo Lindenberg wurde von der DDR zensiert, nun setzt ihn der woke Westen auf den Index: Aus einem Hit soll das Wort «Oberindianer» gestrichen werden". nzz.ch.
  20. ^ Sternsdorf, Paulina (31 October 2024). "„Linksradikale Sekte", „Kulturlos": Wütende Reaktionen nach Lindenberg-Zensur". Focus.de.
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