The Peace of Westphalia was concluded 375 years ago ending the 30-year war with two peace treaties. To mark this anniversary, the Kunsthalle Osnabrück is doing a research and exhibition project in collaboration with the internationally renowned Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama. Among other things, the project tells the story of the linen trade in Osnabrück.
From the 8th of July to the 1st of October 2023, Mahama draped the former Galeria Kaufhof building in Osnabrück’s city centre with fabrics. The cover consists of different materials: strip weave fabric, Ghanaian garments batakaris, and jute sacks.
‘TRANSFER(s)’ investigates the city’s history of the linen trade in Mahama’s new research and exhibition project. It explores the many trade routes between Central Europe and West Africa, past and present. Osnabrück served as one of the most important fabric-producing regions in Westphalia. The fabric produced was used to make clothes for forced laborers on the plantations of the West Indies. The linen fabric was also used as a means of exchange for prisoners from the coastal areas of Africa.
The building has been a part of the city’s history, war, and post-war experiences, which are linked to global trade and power relations through Mahama’s art. The building is currently being converted by the Hamburg-based project developer Home United. From 2024 on, the cross-community space Osnabrücker Ding will open there. The departments of Art/Art Education and Textile Design of the University of Osnabrück will also be located there.
During the exhibition, people are invited to free guided tours regularly on Thursdays from 18:00 and Saturdays from 14:00 until the end of the exhibition period. The meeting place for the Ice Cream Café Talks is the Eiscafé Dolomiti.
