Catalogs and PublicationsFor the Couch

The Exhibition Catalog: The Blue Continent – Islands in the Pacific

Is Oceania far away for us? Only geographically. Germany has close ties to the region and a sense of responsibility, not least because of its colonial past. As an industrialized nation, we have played a major role in causing climate change, which could soon cause the first atolls to sink into the sea. This issue aims to highlight these connections and the threatened cultural and natural wealth of the region. Just like the other projects of “The Blue Continent” – the online platform blue-continent.d and the exhibitionsin Apia (Samoa) and at the Übersee-Museum in Bremen – it was created through international collaboration that brings together a variety of perspectives. After all, nothing is more exciting than stepping outside one’s own boundaries and truly listening to the other side.

Contents

Follow the journey of our museum team to Samoa in the literary diary, get to know thousands of islands and an infinite expanse of water or learn about the artistic climate protest. These and other moving, touching and interesting stories await you.

Contributors

Just as with the exhibition and the digital platform “The Blue Continent – Islands in the Pacific,” people from Samoa, Germany and all over the world contributed to this magazine.

Buy the magazine

You can purchase the magazine on-site at our museum shop or order it from us to have it mailed to you (plus shipping costs). Price: 9,90€
The magazine is published in German and English.

TenDenZen – Yearbook of the Übersee-Museum, Volume 30, 2022

The TenDenZen 2022 volume “100% Cotton” is the companion publication to the major special exhibition of the same name, running from October 1, 2022, to April 11, 2023, at the Übersee-Museum in Bremen. Cotton embodies global history, the present, and the future. No other natural fiber exhibits such a diverse, enduring, and thus profoundly influential character on humanity as this member of the mallow family. In the chapters “Culture-Shaping, Dark Sides, Global, and Rich in Ideas,” cotton is examined from various perspectives, thereby highlighting what makes this unique raw material so multifaceted.

TenDenZen – Yearbook of the Übersee-Museum, Vol. 29, 2021

Where do the objects in the museum come from, and how did they end up in the collections? These are the questions addressed by provenance research, which has been attracting significant public interest for several years now. At the Übersee-Museum Bremen, this field of research is a core component of the museum’s work: The museum has made it its mission to critically examine the origins of its collections from colonial contexts and acquisitions made between 1933 and 1945. The Übersee-Museum is now presenting the latest findings from this extensive research in the yearbook *TenDenZen Provenance Research*. The volume brings together findings on cultural property confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution, expert contributions on objects from colonial contexts in the Africa Collection, and insights into the handling of sensitive collection items. The publication also addresses the repatriation of human remains to their communities of origin in recent museum history.

TenDenZen – Yearbook of the Übersee-Museum, Vol. 28, 2020

Even today, more than two billion people still lack access to clean water, and roughly twice that number lack hygienic and environmentally sound disposal of their domestic wastewater. Nearly one billion people are forced to relieve themselves outdoors. They lack the basic necessities needed to lead healthy and self-determined lives. Through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the international community has recognized that water, hygiene, and sanitation play a key role in enabling people to live together on our planet. BORDA (Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association) and its partners have been involved in a network of civil society, government, and private-sector actors in over 20 countries around the world for more than 40 years. In this anthology, 13 authors, activists, and observers shed light on this Bremen-based development cooperation initiative, which has until now operated largely behind the scenes.

TenDenZen – Yearbook of the Übersee-Museum, Vol. 27, 2019

To complement the exhibition at the Übersee-Museum, a companion book has been published that explores the exhibition’s themes in greater depth. At the Übersee-Museum in Bremen, too, the critical examination of the museum’s own history – particularly the acquisition of its collections – is taking on ever greater importance. In addition to acquisitions made between 1933 and 1945, the focus is on collections from the colonial era. Public interest in the origins of museum collections and in Germany’s colonial past is also growing. The companion volume to the permanent exhibition, which explores the history of the Übersee-Museum, examines collecting and exhibition practices in the context of their respective eras.

TenDenZen – Yearbook of the Übersee-Museum, Vol. 26, 2018

Accompanying the multimedia special exhibition “Antarctica,” which was created in collaboration with the Musée des Confluences in Lyon and the nonprofit organization Wild-Touch (“Antarctica – In the Footsteps of Luc Jacquet,” October 27, 2018, through April 28, 2019, at the Übersee-Museum), this volume provides a multifaceted insight into various topics related to Antarctica. In addition to the history of Antarctic research and the continent’s geological and climatic evolution, the book also explores the diverse habitats and their inhabitants, as well as the use and protection of Antarctica. Companion volume to the exhibition.

TenDenZen – Yearbook of the Übersee-Museum, Vol. 25, 2017

Bremen as a trading city for coffee, tobacco, and cotton; Bremen as a logistics hub; Bremen and the collection on the history of trade at the Übersee-Museum. In this yearbook, everything is interconnected, fully in line with the Übersee-Museum’s conceptual vision.

TenDenZen – Yearbook of the Übersee-Museum, Vol. 24, 2016

Immigration, religion, politics and society, global trade – the Americas exhibition explores the defining themes of the continent. The exhibition’s companion volume delves deeper into these topics and provides additional context. From slavery to silver mining in Potosí to the Aztecs – the curators’ texts sparked vivid imagery in my mind as I read them from the comfort of my couch at home.

TenDenZen – Yearbook of the Übersee-Museum, Vol. 23, 2015

“Whales” was one of the most successful exhibitions at the Übersee-Museum in Bremen. The fascination with the largest animals on Earth remains as strong as ever, and the mysteries of their behavior and habitat continue to captivate researchers and the general public alike. The exhibition catalog also takes a close look at whaling and the myths surrounding whales. A real asset for biologists, historians, economists, and ethnologists – and, taken as a whole, a quintessential Übersee-Museum Bremen exhibition.