An Alternative Monument for Germany

What might a monument commemorating migration look like? How can memories of migration be shared and preserved? What significance can a collective approach have in expanding the culture of public space remembrance? What role can emerging digital formats play in this context?

The Alternative Monument for Germany (Alternatives Denkmal für Deutschland—ADfD), curated and conceived by Siska, Mikala Hyldig Dal, Emanuele Valariano on Sunday, will be unveiled on September 8, 2024, at 4pm. The event will take place at Kottbusser Tor, Admiralstraße 1, 10999 Berlin.

ADfD was born as an initiative centered on exploring the relationship between representation, public spaces, and art. It examines the typology of monuments in cities as its research and action field. The project was born out of the need to resist the racist and xenophobic migration discourse in Germany and the European Union. The monument project is not static but processual, evolving through community-driven gatherings, workshops, and lecture series. Its focus is queer, feminist, and migrant-centered. Its purpose is to provide a platform for voices, bodies, cultures, identities, and forgotten stories.

Over the past months, a diverse group of artists, scientists, activists, and citizens selected via an open call gathered in Berlin-Neukölln to collectively envision an alternative monument for migration traces and exile memories. By choosing a digital format, specifically augmented reality, the monument aims to challenge prevailing power structures, combining digital and physical public spaces, and incorporating sound and narration.

The Ishtar Gate is a symbol of ancient engineering, religious and mythological significance, imperial power, cultural exchange, historical legacy, and the complexities of cultural heritage and identity. At the same time, it represents cultural plunder because it was removed from its original context in Babylon and is now exhibited in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, reflecting historical patterns of appropriation and displacement of cultural heritage and, consequently, the plunder and forced migration of millions of people. Thus, it serves as the architectural base for the Alternative Monument for Germany, becoming a platform for marginalized voices, bodies, identities, and forgotten stories, commemorating their existence in Germany.

Starting September 8, the monument will be accessible at the following locations: Kottbusser Tor, Hauptbahnhof Washington Platz, Friedrichstrasse Tränenpalast, and Alexanderplatz. The Monuments AR app can be downloaded by scanning the QR code or visiting here.

A talk with the curators, moderated by Dalia Maini, editor of Arts of the Working Class, as well as a public tour will take place during the Berlin Art Week (details tba).

Monument locations in Berlin
Location I: Kottbusser Tor / Location II: Hauptbahnhof Washington Platz / Location III: Tränenpalast, Friedrichstrasse / Location IV: Alexanderplatz.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information please contact kontakt [​at​] adfd.info.

This project is financed by the support of Hauptstadtkulturfonds 2024.