Warming up a stone
exchange format on Leipzig's colonial stone
A one-and-a-half-day exchange format on the Leipzig Colonial Stone was hosted in November 2025 by Stadtkuratorin Leipzig and the initiative you are warmly invited, in cooperation with the GfZK. The event was organised to discuss the significance of the Leipzig Colonial Stone as a place of remembrance and to develop perspectives for its future use. The event incorporated artistic, scientific and activist contributions alongside moderated feedback methods, facilitating an open, process-oriented dialogue.
On the first day of the workshop at the GfZK, participants shared their perspectives on the Colonial Stone. A representative of Leipzig Postkolonial presented the historical research and the activist remembrance work of the group, which was founded in 2011. This was supplemented by information from the Leipzig city administration on ongoing projects researching Leipzig's role in the colonial era. These projects are being implemented based on resolutions by the Leipzig City Council regarding how to deal with Leipzig's colonial heritage. In a recorded speech, Namibian artist Tuli Mekondjo addressed continuities in colonial violence and the question of perpetrators' responsibility. Ras Yohannes spoke from an artistic and activist perspective as a person of colour about the connections between colonial history and contemporary racism, emphasising the importance of self-represented memory.
On the second day, artistic interventions were combined with joint reflection. At the Colonial Stone, participants experienced Kathleen Bomani's audio piece, 'Water Music', which linked colonial violence in Tanzania with her family history, landscape and rituals. In the afternoon, Felix Pachollek's lecture performance, 'Encountering a Stone', explored the multi-layered, historically significant aspects of the boulder that was erected in Wilhelm Külz Park in 1924. Several feedback sessions, moderated by Juana Awad and the organising team, provided an opportunity to share reactions to the colonial stone and highlight areas for improvement. Participants addressed structural deficits in decolonial memory work, the lack of space available, and the additional burden placed on people of colour. There was a clear desire for long-term collaborative memory practices using diverse and transdisciplinary formats.
We would like to thank everyone involved, as well as all the participants, for their trust, for sharing their perspectives, and for their multifaceted input over the two days!
