Tisser de Nouveaux Liens  ̶  Forging New Connections

Forging new connections and abandoning old ways of thinking are central strategies in dismantling the effects of colonial power structures that have remained in place to this day. This approach focuses in particular on epistemic violence – meaning the power to define knowledge and culture unilaterally, thereby distorting or rendering the perspectives and self-representations of formerly colonised societies invisible. This form of violence also shaped the (museological) representation of Togolese art and culture in Europe.

In this exhibition project, contemporary artists and scholars from Togo connect “collections” in Berlin to various historical and current contexts of Togolese–German relations. At the same time, they forge new connections between institutions in Togo and Germany.

The historical “collections” from Togo

The Ethnologisches Museum Berlin and its preserved historical Togo “collections”—cultural belongings, often violently acquired during the colonial period, as well as historical photographs, and sound recordings—receive particular attention. The contemporary artworks in the exhibition engage directly with these “collections” or contextualise them. In doing so, they generate a productive dialogue that critically questions conventional modes of representation and forges new connections.

New connections as visions of the future

The emergence of new connections signifies a move beyond one-sided narratives, cultivating networks of relations that strengthen and visualise historically marginalised perspectives. This new postcolonial exhibition strategy both reflects colonial traces and drafts a future-oriented global society.