Podcast – Going Against the Grain

The Collaborative Museum: “Gegen die Gewohnheit" (Going Against the Grain) – New Forms of Collaboration

From January 2023 to December 2026, the Ethnologisches Museum (Ethnological Museum) and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst (Asian Art Museum) try out new forms of international collaboration in the project “Das Kollaborative Museum” (The Collaborative Museum), or CoMuse for short, while curating exhibitions, researching collections, designing education programmes, engaging in artistic interventions, and implementing conservation and restoration.

Anna Schäfers, who works on the project, and Katharina Erben, a freelance cultural editor, introduce various sub-projects that are part of CoMuse. They talk with representatives of Indigenous peoples, international partners and fellows, people from Berlin’s pluralistic urban society and the museum staff who collaborate with them all, including curators, art educators, and conservator-restorers.

From January 2023 to December 2025, the Ethnologisches Museum (Ethnological Museum) and the Museum für Asiatische Kunst (Asian Art Museum) try out new forms of international collaboration in the project “Das Kollaborative Museum” (The Collaborative Museum), or CoMuse for short, while curating exhibitions, researching collections, designing education programmes, engaging in artistic interventions, and implementing conservation and restoration.

Anna Schäfers, who works on the project, and Katharina Erben, a freelance cultural editor, introduce various sub-projects that are part of CoMuse. They talk with representatives of Indigenous peoples, international partners and fellows, people from Berlin’s pluralistic urban society and the museum staff who collaborate with them all, including curators, art educators, and conservator-restorers.