New Approaches to Islamic Art

Participative Processes in Redesigning the Museum of Islamic Art

The Museum of Islamic Art is part of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin and contains religious and secular objects, produced in various Islamic societies between the 7th and 19th century. In recent surveys, museum visitors have expressed increasing interest in learning more about the heritage of Muslim societies, as well as the contemporary manifestations of this culture. How are these historic objects related to the practice of Islam today?

In preparation for the new permanent exhibition, this project aimed to develop strategies for modern museum presentation which addresses the needs of various audience groups. It also intends to make the objects accessible to international visitors who come to the museum with urgent concerns regarding non-European cultures. The exhibition reopened in 2020 with approximately 3.000 qm of display space. As the only museum of reference for Islamic cultural history in the German-speaking region, it hopes to encourage discussion and enrich the current debates on social inter- and transculturality, collective self-rule, heteronomy and societal development.