The special exhibition History(s) of Tanzania, which can be seen at the Humboldt Forum from 28 November 2024, sheds light on the eventful history(ies) of today’s Tanzania. Curators from Dar es Salaam, Songea and Berlin developed the exhibition together. They exchanged views with representatives from Tanzania and show their different perspectives and narratives in the exhibition, which also deal with the violent German colonial rule and its consequences. The exhibition also features short films by schoolchildren from Berlin and Dar es Salaam who have travelled to their cities in search of traces of colonialism. The exhibition is complemented by a varied programme of events by Tanzanian artists from the fields of film, dance, photography, media art and music. As the highlight of the programme surrounding the opening, the Tanzanian dance company MUDA Africa will present the European premiere of their current piece Frozen Power.
Image above: Geschichte(n) Tansanias © Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss / Studio Gründer Kirfel, Foto: Michael Degener.
The territory of present-day Tanzania looks back on an eventful history. Due to its location on the Indian Ocean, the societies there were early players in transregional trade networks. During German colonial rule between 1884 and 1919, Tanzania was part of the colony of ‘German East Africa’, after which it was placed under British rule under the name ‘Tanganyika’ until independence in 1961. The consequences of the oppression, exploitation and violence of colonial rule can still be felt today. During this time, thousands of ‘objects’, now known as cultural belongings, were brought to Germany. In the Ethnological Museum in Berlin alone, there are now more than 10,000 ‘objects’ from what is now Tanzania.
Special exhibition
What stories do these Cultural Belongings tell? The exhibition shows the entanglements of today’s Tanzania that have grown over the centuries by means of different narratives and perspectives. One focus is on the period of colonial oppression and exploitation. Colonial narratives are critically reflected upon and racist attributions are scrutinised.
The exhibition was developed collaboratively: Curators from Dar es Salaam, Songea and Berlin as well as representatives of communities in Tanzania have their say in texts and film interviews in the exhibition. Works by East African artists critically examine the colonial gaze. The Cultural Belongings and the contributions from different perspectives are presented in an architecture made of teak and bamboo that both protects the ‘objects’ and offers an aesthetic and sensual experience.
Short film project City Research
An integral part of the exhibition is the international student project City Research. Two groups of pupils – one in Berlin, one in Dar es Salaam – set out to explore the city and examine traces of colonialism that are recognisable today. The exhibition shows short films from the project, which deal with buildings, street names and squares, for example.
The exhibition is a collaboration between the National Museum of Tanzania, the Ethnological Museum and the Central Archive, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz and the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss.
Events – Programme for the opening
On the opening weekend and afterwards, the exhibition will be complemented by a diverse programme of events including films, dance, communal meals, photography and VR presentations, Bao game workshops and concerts, presenting current artistic positions from Tanzania and the Tanzanian diaspora. The Tanzanian artists reflect on the long shadow of the colonial era in an artistically critical way and formulate visions of the future beyond colonial narratives. The audience will gain insights into current debates, aesthetics and strategies of cultural (re)appropriation and experience highlights of the dynamic, young and constantly growing cultural and art scene in Dar es Salaam, one of the fastest growing metropolises in the world.
Highlights (selection)
On 30 November 2024, the legendary record label SISSO Records from Dar es Salaam presented a Singeli Label Night with live acts from the Singeli scene, including Jay Mita, Kadilida, Nana & Zai. Singeli is the sound of young Dar es Salaam – a hybrid mix of traditional Tanzanian music forms such as taraab and ngoma with electro beats, pitched at up to 300 bpm – danceable, ecstatic, subversive, created for its own community and, like the urban space of Dar es Salaam, pulsatingly multi-layered.
In a music lecture on 30 November and 1 December 2024, the legendary John Kitime, a passionate chronicler of Tanzanian music culture for over 50 years, will guide you through Tanzania’s history and make it audible and tangible. He plays hits and rarities from his unique archive and tells all the stories hidden behind record covers, demo tapes and vinyl rarities – from the years of the struggle for independence, through the formative period of African socialism (Ujamaa) to the present day. The popular musician and radio presenter travels the country tirelessly to catalogue, digitise and make accessible supposedly lost recordings.
The DAR Foto Festival will be present throughout the opening weekend with a pop-up presentation at the Humboldt Forum. Five young photographers have been commissioned by the festival to explore the theme of ‘coexistence’ and questions of historical memory, diversity and identity in Tanzania today.
As a further highlight of the opening programme, the Tanzanian dance company MUDA Africa will present the European premiere of its current work Frozen Power from 5-8 December 2024 at 7 pm. In a mixture of contemporary dance and theatre, choreographer Ian Mwaizunga explores female empowerment and the power of re-imagining history. Five dancers and a live musician tell the story of a female ruler who has to fight for her power between colonial occupation and local intrigues.
WHEN?
Opening: Thursday, 28 November 2024
Exhibition dates: from Thursday, 28 November 2024
Opening hours: Wednesday – Monday, 10:30 am – 6:30 pm
Singeli Label Night: Saturday, 30 November 2024, 7 pm
European premiere: Frozen Power. Dance guest performance by MUDA Africa from Dar es Salaam: Thursday, 5 December – Sunday, 8 December 2024, 7 pm
WHERE?
Humboldt Forum
Schloßplatz
10178 Berlin
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