Panel Discussion
“Orient” - fantasies, exoticism and the construction of the other (in German)
Bernisches Historisches Museum
11.9.24, 6-8h30 pm
The event highlights colonial references in the collection of the Bernisches Historisches Museum using the example of the “Oriental Collection” and the “Oriental Hall”. Short input presentations form the prelude. What is the history of the collection and the hall - and who was it built for at the beginning of the 20th century? What is “Orientalism” and which aspects are problematic from today's perspective? Experts will then discuss what an “Oriental Hall” can do for society in the 21st century - beyond orientalist projections. And they will explore the question of what social reality looks like today in post-migrant Switzerland.
Panelists:
Cenk Akdoganbulut, history teacher, doctoral student, Department ofContemporary History, University of Fribourg
PD Dr. Francine Giese, art historian and director of the Vitrocentre and Vitromusée Romont
Rahel Wille, ethnologist and curator of the ethnographic collection of the Bernisches Historisches Museum
Moderated by Yasmin Naderi Afshar, curator and mediator New Patrons Switzerland
The podium starts at 6 pm. From 5 pm, the exhibition “Widerstände. Dealing with racism in Bern” will be open. At 5.15 pm there will be a short 30-minute guided tour of the exhibition. Bar service until 8.30 pm.