Nanette Snoep's Contract Not Renewed at Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne
Nanette Snoep, who has served as the director of the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne since 2019, will conclude her tenure at the end of 2024, as the city opted not to extend her contract. Throughout her time, she focused on engaging various communities in North Rhine-Westphalia and Cologne, especially those affected by racism, through exhibitions such as "Resist," "I Miss You" (2022), and the forthcoming "Return." The "I Miss You" exhibit featured over 90 looted artifacts from Benin, with some returned to Nigeria. Facing criticism, including funding cuts and internal opposition, Snoep contends that museums cannot achieve decolonization without ceding authority. She also observed a regressive shift in Germany's political landscape since the Black Lives Matter movement, unlike the situation in the Netherlands. Her last exhibition, "Return," will debut amid difficult circumstances.
Key facts
- Nanette Snoep has directed the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum in Cologne since 2019.
- Her contract was not renewed by the city of Cologne and expires at the end of 2024.
- She aimed to make the museum more open to diverse communities and those with racism experiences.
- The exhibition "I Miss You" (2022) showed over 90 works looted from the royal court of Benin in the late 19th century, some later restituted to Nigeria.
- Her predecessor gave an outraged interview, and the Museumsgesellschaft withheld funding due to resistance.
- Snoep believes museums cannot decolonize themselves; they must give up power.
- She notes a political shift in Germany away from decolonization efforts since Black Lives Matter.
- Her final exhibition "Return" opens under difficult conditions with no fixed path, no vitrines, and multiple narratives.
Entities
Artists
- Nanette Snoep
- Martin Zillinger
- Bénédicte Savoy
- Geert Wilders
Institutions
- Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum
- Stadt Köln
- Museumsgesellschaft
- ICOM
- Documenta Fifteen
- Universität Berlin
- Universität Köln
- FAZ
- Black Lives Matter
Locations
- Köln
- Germany
- Nordrhein-Westfalen
- Benin
- Nigeria
- Netherlands
- Berlin
- Europe