It’s about identity, reparations, theft, loss and impermanence: Vinyago – Dance and Exhibition beyond Colonial Biographies at the Humboldt Forum combines various art forms to create a large-scale installation. Vinyago is the result of 19 Tanzanian artists’ interpretation of the collection at Berlin’s Ethnological Museum. Their focus is on East African masks: “Vinyago” means masks in Swahili. Historical masks are complemented by contemporary examples from Tanzania (because of Germany’s colonial legacy, most of the artifacts in the collection come from present-day Tanzania, a former colony). In performances, the masks become one with the dancers. The works cleverly point to and reflect upon the paradox in which ethnological museums find themselves today. The installation and performances function as a magnifying glass. The performances, which feature dancers and musicians interacting with the exhibits, take place on weekends and are followed by discussions with the artists. But the exhibition also continually and consistently challenges modes of representation, interpretive sovereignties, and accessibility.
Text: Alina Herbel / Photos: Nicholas Calvin Mwakatobe & Stefanie Loos
Humboldt Forum, Schloßplatz 1, 10178 Berlin–Mitte; map
Vinyago Exhibition until 08.01.2023 & Performances until 18.12.2022
@humboldtforum
