The “Museum and Exhibition” degree programme is unique in Germany. Alongside theoretical study at university, students immerse themselves deeply in the workings of museums – and even organise their own exhibition. This time, the theme is sport.
Every word has to be just right. One morning in mid-February, Gwendolyn Wördenweber and Moritz Waßmann are hunched over their laptops. It’s time to put the finishing touches to the exhibition texts. They need to be easy to understand, short and snappy, informative, but also entertaining. It’s a challenge to boil the message down to the absolute essentials and, in doing so, part with phrases they’ve grown fond of, say the third-semester students on the ‘Museum and Exhibition’ Master’s programme.
The texts are intended for an exhibition they have conceived entirely themselves from start to finish. Together with nine other students from their class of 2020, they will be presenting it from 15 to 26 April at the Forum St. Peter in Oldenburg. The title: ‘A feeling that lingers. A journey through the club life of the Oldenburg Gymnastics Association with all five senses.’ It forms part of the ‘Sports Venues as Places of Remembrance’ project run by the Oldenburgische Landschaft regional association.
Sport history: Developing an exhibition concept
This is the first time the students have organised an exhibition for the public, rather than just as part of an internal university seminar; it serves as a major practical project within their degree programme, running over two semesters. The brief was broad: to showcase impressions from 167 years of club life – in whatever way they chose. “We started by visiting OTB sports venues and poring over a great deal of archive material,” recalls Waßmann of the early days. “It was important to us not to create a purely historical exhibition for club members, but also to appeal to people who have no connection with the OTB and its history.”
The result: an exhibition that uses a multi-sensory approach to illustrate how sport and memories in general – and OTB’s history and personal memories in particular – are interconnected. Five stations engage visitors’ various senses. “Sport in particular is full of characteristic sounds, and for many people these bring back memories,” says Wördenweber, explaining the concept. For example, at the “Hearing” station, the shrill sound of a whistle rings out through the room. Songs are also played – songs that are sung together at major sporting events or amongst club members – as well as stories from the past that are still told amongst OTB members today.
Organising an exhibition of their own involved a great deal of hard work, the students report. They quickly divided themselves into various working groups. The curation and education team devised the basic exhibition concept. Others tackled design issues and developed the interactive hands-on stations for exhibition visitors. The Kustodie team ensured that exhibition items such as whistles and headphones were in their designated places. Public relations work – including visual advertising, a website and managing a dedicated Instagram channel (@ausstellungsprojekt) – was also part of the role. In addition to the exhibition itself, a supporting programme had to be organised, featuring guided tours and discussion sessions.
We combine theory and practice in a unique way.
Dr Klara von Lindern; Academic Adviser for the ‘Exhibitions and Museums’ degree programme
“It’s a lot, but we prepare our students well for it. Right from their first year of study, they learn what it means to put together an exhibition on their own,” says Dr Klara von Lindern, academic advisor for the degree programme and research assistant at the Institute of Material Culture. “In doing so, we combine theory and practice in a unique way.” The “Museum and Exhibition” Master’s programme has now been running for around 20 years. According to von Lindern, what makes the Oldenburg model unique is that, right from the start of their studies, students are immersed in the practical work of various museums – particularly small to medium-sized ones in the region. They visit four museums during the first two semesters, spending one fixed day a week on site at each. Co-operations include, for example, the Oldenburg City Museum, the State Museum of Nature and Man, the Wilhelmshaven Maritime Museum, the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven and the Cloppenburg Museum Village. “This gives students a hands-on introduction to the various fields of museum work and enables them to build a broad network right from the start,” says von Lindern. “Establishing contacts with one another and with museum staff makes it easier to launch their careers in the sector.”
Wördenweber and Waßmann were also able to gain experience in various museums before undertaking their first major exhibition project of their own. For example, they researched the life and work of a dyke reeve in the Wesermarsch region for the Ovelgönne Craft Museum, edited texts for a new exhibition at the “Nordwolle Delmenhorst” Museum, and helped develop a concept for the museum-based use of a Gulfhof farmstead in need of renovation.
Museums in a Changing Society
By this stage, students have already acquired theoretical knowledge and methodologies from their university seminars. In the first two semesters, for example, there is an introductory module which covers, amongst other things, how museums came into being in the first place, which current discourses and debates are shaping the museum landscape, and how exhibitions can be analysed from an academic perspective. “Museums often follow their own institutional logic and are characterised by institutional structures that have often been in place for a long time,” says von Lindern. Nevertheless, she adds, they are key venues for the negotiation of social debates and discourses. “I am delighted when our students, as well-educated young people, participate in the negotiation of such social and academic debates in exhibitions in and around Oldenburg, and contribute actively with a fresh perspective.” For example, when it comes to topics such as discrimination, removing barriers and digitalisation. Also, when examining where certain exhibition objects actually come from and to what extent postcolonial references are addressed.
Starting your career as an all-rounder
What comes after graduation? “Our degree programme covers the full spectrum of museum work. Our alumni have therefore pursued very different career paths,” says von Lindern. Some curate exhibitions in the traditional sense, others work in education and outreach, or go into academia. Still others are active in cultural policy, in the museum association, or work in archives or libraries. There are former students who now run museums in the region or work in public relations. The students from the current class of students are yet to start their careers. “I’m preparing myself for the fact that my duties will probably be very varied later on,” says Wördenweber. Her first major exhibition project of her own has certainly encouraged her to continue on her chosen path, adds Waßmann. They now know that, no matter what role they are given at the museum, they will cope with it well.
