Exhibition
1.5. to 9.11.2025
New Gallery

From May 1, 2025 to November 9, 2025, Hessen Kassel Heritage at the Neue Galerie in Kassel provides an insight into the diverse museum work. The special exhibition "What are you doing there? Why museums are important" explores the question of what museums do - and why they are indispensable for our society. Through selected exhibition objects, accompanied by texts, images, and short films, the exhibition shows how museums operate.

Im Mittelpunkt der Ausstellung stehen die fünf traditionellen Aufgabenbereiche eines Museums, wie sie der Internationale Museumsrat (ICOM) definiert: Sammeln, Bewahren, Forschen, Interpretieren und Ausstellen. Ausgewählte Objekte eröffnen so einen authentischen Einblick in die Arbeit, die hinter den Sammlungen von Hessen Kassel Heritage steht. 

From ancient Egypt to documenta

The exhibited objects cover a wide range from the Stone Age to the present, from wallpaper to astronomical instruments. They demonstrate how diverse museum work is - both in terms of content and methodology. Methods and research questions are illustrated in the exhibition using various examples, including a critical examination of the role of the Hessian State Museum in the expropriation of Jewish people during the Nazi era, an archaeological investigation at the northern Hessian Haydau Monastery, and the eventful history of the plaster cast of an Egyptian pharaoh statue.

The goal is not to present an overview-like showcase. On the contrary, deliberate contrasts and points of friction between the individual pieces are sought: One jumps from Ancient Egypt to Joseph Beuys. The Reformation period in Hesse stands next to Greek antiquity.

If one engages with this concept, it becomes clear how it is possible and why it is a rewarding task to elicit the stories of objects, document them, and tell them.

In a discursive space, film formats specially developed for this exhibition are presented, which go beyond the traditional tasks of museum work. Documentaries, essayistic contributions, and fictional narrative forms provide alternative approaches to complex topics.

Finally, the exhibition also offers two additional smaller rooms. In one of them, interesting and amusing facts about the museum are presented. In the other, visitors have the opportunity to express and leave their own feelings and wishes related to the museum.

An accompanying publication in German language from the series "more.about" will be released for the exhibition. Many contributions elaborate extensively on the topic "Why museums are important."