Mission Statement

The Linden-Museum

The Linden Museum The Linden-Museum Stuttgart is a state anthropological museum, supported and financed by the State of Baden-Württemberg and the City of Stuttgart.

The human being is our focus. We deal with questions of society, identity, cultural change, faith and globalization. We stand for tolerance and respect and enable visitors to encounter different realities of life in the world with an open mind, beyond a European perspective.

 

The Linden-Museum is on the move: We are in a transparent process of reorientation and want to create space for transcultural exchange. We are exploring new forms of presentation and the active participation of representatives from the societies of origin as well as people from Stuttgart. We are committed to polyphony. In addition, we offer a place where visitors feel welcome and can have powerful experiences.

 

In our program, we want to sensitize people to the dynamics of cultural processes, responsible coexistence and respectful treatment of cultural heritage. We also want to draw attention to current global interdependencies and challenges.

The collection is the starting point of our work.

The collection is the starting point of our work. Our mission is to collect, preserve, research, document, communicate, exhibit, and broaden our view of the world. We are responsible for approximately 160,000 objects. Our focus is on historic and contemporary objects of daily use and ceremonies, as well as works of art from Africa, North and Latin America, Asia, Australia, Oceania, and, to a lesser extent, Europe. The collection also includes photographic media and archival materials. The collection is constantly growing and changing.

Collection strategy

 

The appreciation of the objects in the collection is the starting point of our work. They represent complex relationships between people, objects, society, and the idea of the world. Together with various international partners, we explore the collection and make visible the many stories behind it.

Coming to terms with the colonial past is important to us.

The history of the Linden-Museum and its collection begins with the German colonial era. For us, this means taking responsibility. We are actively working through the colonial past of our institution and want to recognize and, if possible, make visible the power structures that still exist today.

Provenance research, i.e., research into the acquisition history of our collection, and new forms of cooperation with various actors play a central role in this process. We are open to demands for restitution from stakeholders in the regions of origin of the objects.

 

Restitution

Our research and work is networked and interdisciplinary.

Further interdisciplinary research of the collection holdings and their contexts are of central importance to us. Networking and exchange with other academic institutions, scholars and representatives of origin societies worldwide play a central role.

Preparing research results and making them available to the public is a core task of our museum. We provide access to our collection, library, and archives for research purposes.

We facilitate diverse encounters between people and our collection.

In our exhibition spaces, we invite visitors to experience the world as free of stereotypes as possible. We also present our collection from a variety of perspectives through events and educational formats. We see ourselves as a partner for learners and teachers and aim to facilitate enriching, multi-voiced encounters, critical dialogues and mutual learning between people from all over the world and us as a museum. We create sustainable relationships and networks, for example through support groups and volunteers.

Many perspectives enrich our team.

Working in a variety of departments is the foundation for meeting these needs and goals. Our staff work in management, collections and research, restoration and storage, education and outreach, communications, digital, administration, technology, security, and visitor services. They all contribute to the development of the Linden-Museum.

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