City Expedition

Plans are underway to construct a city museum in Kempten in the Allgäu region in the coming two years. The museums of the city of Kempten have now launched a project titled “City Expedition” to explore ways to get the public involved in the development process. The future museum should be a place that examines the past and present, a forum that touches on contemporary issues and the lives of its visitors.

In the first stage of the project, the inhabitants of Kempten of all ages, visitors and refugees included, will offer their personal definition of “home” and explain what the city of Kempten means to them. At the midway point, all of the city’s residents will be invited to participate in creating a public collection by donating a “hometown object” and its corresponding story to the theatre, Kunsthaus or museum. In an open voting process, the city’s inhabitants will be able to select objects which they feel should be included in the future city museum. In the second project phase, a group of researchers of various ages and backgrounds will stage several events to learn about the public’s wishes for the new city museum. This could be done by conducting video interviews on the street or setting up booths at public areas at which passers-by could record their own answers and comments. Interventions in public space will make the yet non-existent museum visible and initiate discussion. In summer 2018, an exhibition will present the results of the expeditions and assess them together with the public.

Partners: TiK - Theater in Kempten, Künstlerhaus e.V. and others