The digital archive, drawing on objects from both European and African museum collections, develops strategies for a more expansive understanding of knowledge. The public platform is designed for researchers, artists, and anyone interested in decolonial approaches to knowledge production. At its core is the question: “What might knowledge beyond European knowledge systems look like today?”

The dynamic digital structure of the TALKING OBJECTS ARCHIVE was developed in collaboration with African Digital Heritage (Nairobi) and designers from visual intelligence (Berlin). Themes woven into the archive’s framework range from reflections on knowledge, identity, memory, and the imaginary to questions of restitution and reclamation.

The TALKING OBJECTS ARCHIVE is hosted by African Digital Heritage, Nairobi.

The TALKING OBJECTS ARCHIVE was initiated by Isabel Raabe. The curatorial team includes Chao Tayiana Maina, Mahret Ifeoma Kupka, Isabel Raabe, and Malick Ndiaye.

It was developed in collaboration with African Digital Heritage (Nairobi), visual intelligence (Berlin), and the Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire/IFAN (Dakar).

The TALKING OBJECTS ARCHIVE is supported by the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien/BKM (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media), KfW Stiftung, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the German Federal Foreign Office, and the Goethe-Institut.