Museum der Kulturen Basel, Switzerland - Exhibition 22 March to 29 September 2013: What's next? Insurrection of things in the Amazon

Basel, Schweiz (ots) - The life of things doesn't end when they
become part of an ethnographic museum collection. In fact, they tell
us stories of a common past and present between the museum and their
place of origin. They also ask questions concerning the
responsibility which we bear from these relationships for the future.

With its "What's next? Insurrection of things in the Amazon"
exhibition, the Museum der Kulturen deals with these questions and
invites you to partake in an inspirational journey through the
historical and current interrelation between the Amazon Basin and the
ethnographic collections at the knee of the Rhine. The exhibition
examines selected collection pieces ranging from the 1950s to 2010
with a view to establishing the interests and world views of a
variety of peoples and with a particular focus on indigenous
communities. In these communities, objects play a central and active
role in humanisation, the arrangement of social relationships and the
visualisation of identities. Myths tell us how objects are created
and take on a role in life but also of how they rebel against humans
when they are not treated as they should be. The exhibition combines
contemporary approaches in ethnology, which delve into the impact of
things, addressing the question of the freedom of indigenous peoples
to act within a global context. Gigantic infrastructure projects
designed to develop natural resources will drastically and
irreversibly change both Amazonia and also, most likely, the rest of
the planet. The Museum der Kulturen has taken on this problem in
order to pursue connections between museum collections and historical
events in Amazonia. No answer is given to the question of "What's
next?". The exhibition is designed to be a platform for reflection,
thus leaving it open to visitors to decide for themselves if and how
they wish to approach the question of global responsibility which,
depending on your viewpoint, consists of something between
involvement and neo-colonial intervention.

Contact:
Pierre-Alain Jeker Public Relations Museum der Kulturen Basel
Tel.: +41/61/266'56'34 E-Mail: pierre-alain.jeker@bs.ch

Museum der Kulturen Basel, Münsterplatz 20, PO Box, CH-4001 Basel,
Tel. +41 (0)61 266 5600, Fax +41 (0)61 266 56 05, www.mkb.ch,
info@mkb.ch