International Conference: Monuments and Sites de-colonial! Methods and Strategies of Dealing with the Architectural Heritage of the German Colonial Era, November 3-4, 2023, at Vorhoelzer-Forum, Technical University of Munich, Arcisstr. 21, 80333 Munich and online.

Organizers: ICOMOS Germany and Technical University of Munich,
Organizing committee: Tino Mager, Gabriele Horn, John Ziesemer (ICOMOS Germany) and Michael Falser (TU Munich),
Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM).

Monuments and Sites de-colonial! will be dealing with the architectural relics of the German colonial era and investigating post-colonial strategies of appropriation and critical communication regarding these buildings. In addition to references to pre-colonial legacies, the focus lies primarily on the period of the German colonial era from around 1880 to 1920. The spectrum of case studies will refer both to the territory of the German Empire itself at the time, as well as to the former German colonies in Africa, East Asia and the South Pacific.

With regard to the identification, systematic inventory and visualization of colonial-era individual buildings and ensembles, of monuments and even entire cities and infrastructural landscapes, as well as of today's commemorative and memorial sites and places, the focus of interest is primarily on the political, civic and architectural / artistic forms of appropriation on site and the strategies of dealing with them in terms of scientific methodology and monument conservation.

The two-day symposium, with an introduction, 6 sessions with 23 papers of altogether 35 speakers and a final wrap-up discussion, intends to increase the visibility and knowledge of this architectural heritage from the German colonial era and to promote dialogue with today's custodians or those concerned on site.

The conference is a cooperation between ICOMOS Germany (Homepage) and the TU Munich (Michael Falser). Selected papers will be published after the conference in the series ICOMOS – Journals of the German National Committee.

PROGRAM:

FRIDAY, November 3, 2023

8:00 Registration
9:00 Opening and Welcome: Tino Mager, President ICOMOS Germany and H.E. Hassan Iddi Mwamweta, Ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania in the Federal Republic of Germany

9:30 Introduction to the Conference: Michael Falser (TU Munich/Germany)

10:00 SESSION I: INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGNS AND COOPERATIONS – INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH
Chair: Gabriele Horn (Shared Built Heritage/ICOMOS Germany, SPSG)

Colonial Buildings in Tanzania: A Point of View from a German-Tanzanian Expert Mission (2018) about Status, Preservation Options and Future, Ralph Egermann (Büro für Baukonstruktionen, Karlsruhe/Germany) and Prisca Kirway (Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Dodoma/Tanzania)

Collaborative Approaches to the (Built) ‘Shared Heritage’ of German Colonialism in Africa (Volta/Ghana and Pangani/Tanzania), Jörg Linstädter and Cornelia Kleinitz (German Archaeological Institute, KAAK, Bonn/Germany)

From Building Archaeology to Conservation Management of German Colonial Architectural Heritage in Cameroon, Martin Elouga & Salamatou (University of Yaoundé/Cameroon)

11:30 Coffee Break

12:00 SESSION II: MAPPING, INVENTORY, EVALUATION
Chair: Claus-Peter Echter (Shared Built Heritage/ICOMOS Germany)

Documenting and Promoting German Colonial Buildings in Togo, Aka Adjo Bebewou and Komla Hato (University of Lomé/Togo)

German Colonial Architecture between Germany and Cameroon – Postcolonial Appropriation in a Decolonial Age, Richard Tsogang Fossi and Champolion Miache Evina (TU Berlin/Germany, University of Yaoundé/Cameroon)

Interdisciplinary Approaches of Decolonization: Source Editing, Visual History and Exhibitions about the Early History of Tsingtau/Qingdao (China), Zhu Yijie (Qingdao University/China)

Archaeological Perspectives on German Colonial Built Heritage in the Pacific – A Case Study on Apia/Samoa, Christian Reepmeyer (German Archaeological Institute, Berlin/Germany)

13:30 Lunch Break

14:30 SESSION III: HISTORIC PRESERVATION, CONSERVATION, APPROPRIATION
Chair: Richard Tsogang Fossi (TU Berlin/Germany)

The International Settlement of Tientsin and the German Concession (1895-1917) – From History to Heritage, Wang Ruoran and Xu Subin (Tianjin University, Tianjin/China)

German Fortresses in Northern Cameroon: Preserving Physical Remains and Memories of an Ultimate Resistance Against the Allies until 1916?, Narcisse Santores Tchandeu (University of Yaoundé/Cameroon)

From Construction Material Research to Renovation: The German Architecture of Catholic Churches in Southern Tanzania, Nancy Rushohora and Valence Silayo (University of Dar es Salaam/Tanzania)

Historic Preservation of German Colonial Heritage in Tanga/Tanzania – the Work of the Tanga Heritage Centre (URITHI), Joel Niganile and Mohamed Majura (The Tanga Heritage Centre – URITHI, Tanga/Tanzania)

16:00 Coffee Break

16:30 SESSION IV: USE, TOURISM, COMMODIFICATION
Chair: Sarah Hegenbart (TU Munich/Germany)

Appropriation and Politics of German Colonial Heritage in Namibia: Alte Feste and Tintenpalast in Windhoek, Walter Peters (University of the Free State/South Africa) and Jens Wiedow (Namibian University of Science and Technology, Windhoek/Namibia)

The Gunzert House in Mwanza and the Iringa Boma Museum: Two German Colonial Building Sites in Tanzania Adapted for Contemporary Culture and Education, Delphine Kessy (St. Augustine University/Tanzania) and Jan Kuever (University of Iringa/Tanzania)

The Harbour of Swakopmund/Namibia: Selling German Colonial Nostalgia in a Seaside Resort?, Martin Kalb (Bridgewater College, Bridgewater/USA)

The Palais de Lomé (Togo): From a German Colonial Palace to an Art and Culture Center to Preserve Biodiversity and Celebrate Africa and its Diasporas, Sonia Lawson (Palais de Lomé, Lomé/Togo)

18:00 End of the first Conference Day – Get-Together

SATURDAY, November 4, 2023

10:00 SESSION V: COLONIAL MONUMENTS AND SITES OF MEMORY
Chair: Narcisse Santores Tchandeu (University of Yaoundé/Cameroon)

An Architectural Irony – The Mau Bandstand of Samoa, Lama Tone (University of Auckland/New Zealand)

The German Colonial School in Witzenhausen – A Controversial Crystallization Site of Different Memories and Memory Cultures, Marion Hulverscheidt (University of Kassel/Germany)

Virtual Interference with Monuments. Augmented Reality, Colonial Heritage and the Example of the Kolonialkriegerdenkmal, Düsseldorf, Jens Fehrenbacher (Ruhr University Bochum/Germany)

DECOLONIZE MÜNCHEN (2013) – Revisited: Opening and Diversification of Sites, Buildings and Spaces, Sarah Bergh (Dept. of Civic Education, Munich/Germany) and Modupe Laja (Eine Welt Haus, Munich/Germany)

11:30 Coffee Break

12:00 SESSION VI: DECOLONIAL COMMENTS AND ART INSTALLATIONS
Chair: Sarah Bergh (Dept. of Civic Education, Munich/Germany)

Between Demolition and Artistic Adaptation? The Afterlives of German Colonial Monuments in Africa and Germany, Joachim Zeller (Berlin/Germany)

Colonialism and the Extraction of Landscapes – The Copper Mine in Tsumeb (Namibia) in Otobong Nkanga’s art installations (2015), Sarah Hegenbart (TU Munich/Germany)

Confrontations: Lara Favaretto at “Skulpturenprojekte” Münster 2017 and the Train Monument (1925), Christian Berger (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz/Germany)

Bird’s Perspective – a Decolonial Gaze. Public Space Action in Cologne (2021), Roberto Uribe-Castro (Berlin/Germany)

13:30 WRAP-UP DISCUSSION
Chairs: Tino Mager (ICOMOS Germany) & Michael Falser (TU Munich/Germany)

14:00 End of Conference

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Registration required (limited number of seats, online link): https://forms.gle/QbCkJF6RXRXgeGPG9
Homepage and Programme download: icomosicomos.de
Further Information Contact: michael.falsertum.de