Stadtkuratorin
Leipzig

© Sebastian Eder

Katharina Cibulka: As long as diversity is not state of the heart, I will be a feminist (2020). Artistic intervention on the scaffolding at Schillerplatz (Vienna). 

What city do we live in? Gaps in Memory Culture

Leipzig's urban space is largely developed in the 19th century, when the city experienced enormous economic development and the majority of its residential and commercial buildings were constructed. Its architecture was created exclusively by male architects. As in most European cities, remembrance is shaped by a patriarchal society. The commemoration of wars and battles, heroes, and great figures from science and culture is drawn from the values of a bourgeois, white,1 male-dominated majority society.

This shows how much public space still does not follow discrimination-critical parameters – not to mention deliberately decolonial perspectives. Art, and the culture of remembrance in urban space, cannot be conceived and planned from a neutral position, because past power relations are inscribed in them. They have an impact on a diverse society that is radically different from that of the 19th century.

Leipzig's Marginalized Topics: P(ost)migrant Memories of the GDR, the Fall of Communism, and Critical Colonial History

Leipzig's monuments mainly commemorate the Battle of the Nations, Leipzig personalities,2 and the National Socialist regime of injustice and its devastating consequences.3 Another important theme is the reunification of the two German states in 1989/90. In Leipzig, the fall of the Berlin Wall is mainly recounted as a heroic event. What is missing are the perspectives of people of color who experienced history differently, such as those who were expelled or whose status remained unclear.4 If white East Germans were second-class citizens, what were migrants or migrantized5 East Germans? For them, there was no euphoria surrounding reunification. The previously taboo racism manifested itself and erupted violently: many suddenly had to leave the country or move to the old federal states.6 The fall of the Wall created an exceptional situation of fear, restrictions of freedom, existential uncertainty, and loss of work or education. In some cases, the situation was life-threatening. White Germans excluded migrants and subjected them to massive psychological and physical violence.

In migrant circles, there was a deep knowledge of the need to avoid certain places, times, and people. The chance for a discourse in which 'Das Volk' recognized migrants as 'new Germans' did not materialize. Questions of belonging and new German identity were negotiated in the 1990s as a problem, for the German majority. However, these questions were not taken seriously or acknowledged by the German majority, but were taken up by migrants and their descendants.7 The history of the GDR and its transformation is as much a migrant history as it is a German-German history. There is an opportunity to reappraise this as a shared history.

Migrants/migrantized people, as well as white Germans, lived in a dictatorship with mechanisms of domination such as surveillance, a system of covert privilege, etc. But how are the injustices of the GDR remembered? How are personal wounds, which were also a collective experience, dealt with discursively – being spied on by a good friend, having one's own child taken away8 as an “inconvenient” citizen, or being exploited in prisons as a teenager?9

Participation includes representation of cultural history, injustice, and of individual and collective achievements.

In some West German cities (e.g., Lehrte, Munich, Fürth), one encounters art dedicated to “guest workers” and their achievements. In Dortmund, there is currently (as of January 2025) a call for proposals, in which the selection jury is composed of equal numbers of men and women and is interdisciplinary.10

© Gerd Fahrenhorst, lizensiert unter CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Guest worker monument in Lehrte 2022

Whether bronze sculptures are the appropriate form of remembrance is debatable: visible recognition of the historical achievements of guest workers would be an important sign of reconciliation. Despite enormous difficulties put in place by the old and new state, migrants and migrantized people have built lives for themselves, and are part of Leipzig's urban society.

At the same time, there is still a lack of recognition of the racist acts of violence that were silenced by the GDR government, and other injustices such as forced abortions which guest workers endured.

The UN report “Memorialization Processes”11 states that remembrance deals not just with the past, but also with the present, in order to facilitate healing between groups. It is directed toward the future, in order to prevent future violence through education and awareness-raising. The search for truth and clarification is a human right, recognized under international law.

Colonial Heritage

Leipzig's very recent history shows us that the perspectives and values of Leipzig citizens who have been harmed by colonialism are still not taken into account, in memory culture.

In 2010, for example, a school and a street were renamed Ernst-Pinkert-Straße, to honor the founder of the Leipzig Zoo. The zoo itself is very popular with Leipzig families, and has an appeal that extends beyond the region to this day, so in a way this seems legitimate and obvious. What is accepted and erased by granting this honor, however, is the fact that Pinkert organized racist human zoos and profited from them. The human exhibitions helped spread racist ideology, inequality, and exoticism. By honoring Pinkert, colonial exploitation and contempt for human life are glorified as negligible phenomena of the past.

Community members and initiatives are involved in coming to terms with Leipzig's colonial history, such as the Colonial Memory Alliance: Retelling DOAA and the initiative for the critical reappraisal of human shows at Leipzig Zoo.12 Institutionally, the Grassi Museum of Ethnology is a driving force, due to the subject matter of its collection and the initiative of its former director, Léontine Meijer van Menschen. There is a working group on the colonial heritage of Leipzig's municipal cultural institutions, which meets rarely.

The importance of critical reappraisal is illustrated by the example of Berlin's Dekoloniale13: an active anti-racist alliance that, based on personal experiences of racism, critically examines German and local colonial history, and persistently demands its reappraisal. This is possible through their specialist knowledge and experience.

© David von Becker // Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss

Kang Sunkoo: Statue of Limitations (2022). Nachtigalplatz in the African Quarter, Berlin-Wedding.

© Cordia Schlegelmilch / Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss

Kang Sunkoo: Statue of Limitations (2022). Humboldt Forum Foundation im Berliner Schloss.

Memory Culture of the Majority Society

The need for diversity-sensitive curating is clear in the new focal points in the City of Leipzig's concept of memory culture; a citizen-oriented examination of National Socialism, colonialism, the history of transformation since 1989, and the history of migration, for example.14 The marginalization of these topics must be addressed. The city’s concept, therefore, includes topics which particularly affect people with a history of migration. For them, colonial thinking in the form of racism and stereotyping, as well as the economic consequences, are directly (more) obvious, and there is a broad general knowledge about them.

The newly-created Office for Strategic Remembrance Policy’s activities point to a need for proactive recruitment and involvement of well-known BIPoC15 partners in strategic planning and design. Action plans and milestones must be developed together with them, and structurally anchored in the tasks of the city administration, so that diversity becomes visible within memorial work.

We need leaders with the will and desire to open up the city culturally, for everyone. Recognizing and communicating the intertwined nature of history, understanding and communicating diverse society as an inevitable reality, and awareness of the opportunities and benefits created by diversity, is important for the social fabric of Leipzig's urban society.

Especially as anti-democratic voices gain more support and budgets are being cut, city politicians must continue to financially support and review projects that promote democracy.

The Leipzig administration still lacks a comprehensive understanding of the importance and benefits of working with experts who have experiential knowledge of racism, sexism, ableism, etc. Research questions are always preceded by a personal interest, in a social-scientific process. One's own bias plays a role, and value-free judgment is not a given, as feminist theory has pointed out. It is therefore necessary for technical working methods to take experiential knowledge into account.

Given the long history of denial and silence surrounding racism, painful debates will happen, and we should expect them: white participants should prepare themselves by examining racism, and their role in society, in order to avoid conflict. It is important to consider mediation, so that cooperation is not disrupted. A conference bringing together experienced workers from across the region with local workers and the city administration could provide a forum for exchanging knowledge and best and worst practices.

Art in Public Space

“The LEIPZIG // CITY // SPACE // ART addresses the challenges resulting from the current transformation processes in the city of Leipzig. Art in public space and art in architecture are seen as catalysts for democratic cultural education, and as communication platforms where city administration and urban communities, different interest groups, scenes, and milieus can meet."16

This guideline contains principles which support an anti-discriminatory approach, including:

• integrative, intergenerational approaches

• transculturality and cultural diversity

• progressive forms of participation and a culture of public debate

• community engagement
  

When we discuss socially engaged art, as in the publication City Curator Insight/Overview/Outlook Art in Public Space in the City of Leipzig (Stadtkurator*in Einblick/Überblick/Ausblick Kunst im öffentlichen Raum der Stadt Leipzig), the question of whether art and culture are being forced into the role of firefighters to combat inadequate social, economic, and neighborhood policies arises.

These considerations come up: What do communities and network members gain from participating in projects in public space? People who have not yet had experiences of discrimination or with government agencies should especially step out of their comfort zone, and do emotional work. The initiators of these processes bear responsibility, since human relationships, trust, and hopes are being built. Because crucial diverse perspectives are missing, paternalism often perpetuates itself and is not criticized by employees of the institutions. Trusted individuals from BIPoC communities are needed to build bridges between city administration, artists, and associations and to accompany the processes transparently. Since the majority of the staff currently consists of white academics, the workforce must be diversified in the medium and long term.

Projects must be structured to resist falling victim to austerity plans of the next government or City Council.

In addition to community-based art projects, there will continue to be object-oriented art in construction. This requires good project management skills, in addition to analytic and creative abilities, which are hardly taught in university (at least not in Leipzig.)17

Official language and procedures are a hurdle for many artists. For artists of color who experience discrimination from authorities, the obstacle is even greater. We should examine who the calls for proposals reach, how this can be expanded to include structurally disadvantaged people, and how these procedures can benefit from critical perspectives.

A service-oriented administration that is helpful and solution-oriented, regardless of the person, is important. Reviewing administrative regulations requirements could break down barriers.

The city, universities, and museums could organize consultation hours to promote young talent in art in architecture, where experienced practitioners could pass on their knowledge to emerging artists.

Paper is Patient

These guidelines provide a solid foundation for achieving greater diversity, in the art and memory culture of public space. However, there is often a lack of concrete steps, and a lack of political will to take action. It is also crucial to diversify administrative staff and juries, in order to bring in marginalized knowledge, experiences, and networks. Only in this way can a truly equal and representative culture of the entire urban society be created.