Berlin City Museum: New stories with seniors from November 10th!

Berlin City Museum: New stories with seniors from November 10th!

With the “Round Stories” project, the Berlin City Museum is setting new accents in the cultural educational landscape. This innovative project will officially be launched on November 10, 2025. The focus of the project is on the active participation, participation and artistic production of very old senior women. In contrast to conventional mediation offers, there is no need for pre-conceived content. Rather, it is a co-creative, open-ended process that gives participants the opportunity to express their memories, wishes and thoughts and thereby create new resonance spaces, as stadtmuseum.de reports.

The project takes the realities of the participants' lives seriously and not only collects material objects, but also creates social relationships. Relatives and employees of care facilities are integral parts of this creative process. The aim is to make the participants visible in their diversity and to test new forms of participation. This is done primarily through outreach activities in facilities for seniors. The city museum has been actively committed to breaking down barriers to access and reaching people who have little contact with museums for four years.

Cultural participation and empowerment

Another aspect concerns the cultural participation of children and young people, which is viewed as a fundamental right. As part of the “Young Mind Lab” project, which has existed since 2016, the Stadtmuseum Berlin is cooperating with the artist group Sisyphus and the social institution Flugelefant. The project promotes cultural participation and the empowerment of young people with refugee and migration experiences. Here, playful cooperation and self-confidence are strengthened through creative processes in the performing arts.

In connection with diversity orientation, it is emphasized that structural changes are necessary for real participation. Collaboration between independent groups and cultural institutions is made more difficult by different decision-making processes, which is why the city museum has launched a diversity offensive since 2016. This initiative aims to create participatory structures that also include refugees. Transparency and trust are essential foundations of cooperation.

Conclusion and outlook

With its projects, the Berlin City Museum shows how culture can be viewed as part of the social infrastructure. The approach of designing museums as open meeting places is part of a long-term vision that promotes the participation of both seniors and young people. Cultural projects should not only present, but also design together and thus contribute to sustainably enriching cultural life in our society. Building bridges and making people visible in their diversity is at the center of the Berlin City Museum's efforts.