Bronze that breathes

EarthNest as a living memorial

EarthNest, a decolonial memorial between the two buildings of Berlin Global Village, is the first memorial of its kind in Berlin. It marks a break with the tradition of classical monuments, which often focus on monumentality and enshrine the past in stone or bronze. Instead, EarthNest sees itself as a living place of remembrance: open, dialogical and with the aim of connecting the past, present and future.

The realisation and development process of EarthNest was characterised by a multitude of complex questions. How can artistic design, collective remembrance and social debate be combined in such a way that memory is not museumised, but can be experienced as an everyday, communal practice? What forms of outreach and educational programmes are necessary to address the complexity of colonial history without simplifying it – and at the same time create spaces that are accessible and relevant to different communities? In short: what does it mean to pursue a living practice of remembrance?

Remembering colonialism – but how?

For decades, Germany's colonial past was hardly part of the official culture of remembrance. Only in recent years has there been a response to the pressure and commitment of migrant and diaspora organisations, initiatives and members of civil society. Their demand: to consistently expose the blind spots in German and European history and to make visible the interconnections between colonialism, racism and global inequality that are still felt today.

The idea of a decolonial memorial can also be found in these discourses and struggles, which are shaped by grassroots organisations. The Berlin Global Village, a One World Centre in Neukölln where over 50 development policy and migrant-diaspora organisations work and operate, offered the ideal location for this. Here, questions of decoloniality, social justice and global solidarity shape everyday life. From the outset, however, it was emphasised that this memorial cannot replace a central memorial site, which has long been called for in Berlin – analogous to the Holocaust Memorial and other federally funded memorial sites in the city centre. Rather, EarthNest is a first, important step in that direction and, at the same time, a decentralised building block for a decolonial culture of remembrance in Berlin's public space.

After four years of intensive project and fund acquisition, the project was finally able to be implemented. An international art competition was launched in 2023, in which artists and collectives from all over the world participated. 244 submissions testified to an impressive range of ideas and aesthetics, each visualising decolonial perspectives in its own way – from sculptural works to media art approaches to performative concepts. An international jury of high-calibre experts had the challenging task of initially selecting 20 designs from this wealth of entries and inviting the artists to further develop their concepts. The focus was not only on financial feasibility, but also on the spatial integration into the specific context of the Berlin Global Village. The Lockward Collective, consisting of Jeannette Ehlers and Patricia Kaersenhout and consultant Rolando Vázquez, ultimately emerged as the winners of this anonymous, two-phase, worldwide art competition. Their design, ‘EarthNest,’ was officially opened in November 2024.

A shared nest – for lingering, remembering and mourning

The sculptural form of EarthNest is inspired by West African Musgum architecture; at the same time, the woven structure is reminiscent of the protective space of a mother's womb. The sculpture thus combines elements of care, community and security, while remaining open and fragile. It is not a closed space, but an invitation to dialogue and encounter. In the lower part of the work are twelve specially made ceramic vessels, which are filled in an ongoing process with soil from former German and other European colonies. In the evening, the vessels are illuminated by a warm, violet light that casts a lively shadow effect onto the facades of the two Berlin Global Village buildings. This emphasises the mutability and openness of the memorial. Healing practices are thus at the heart of EarthNest. It sees itself as a communal temple that brings communities together and explores new forms of remembrance. Here, remembrance is not understood as a static monument, but as a lived, processual practice – critical, collective and open to change. EarthNest is therefore not ‘just’ a work of art in public space, but also a strong signal: remembrance culture can be decolonial, polyphonic and participatory. And it is not a luxury, but an indispensable part of a just and solidarity-based future.

Earth stories & remembrance in a global context

A central element of EarthNest are the so-called earth stories. The artistic concept envisages that people from African and Afro-diasporic contexts will continue to be invited to bring earth and the stories associated with it to the vessels anchored in the lower part of the memorial. The symbolic mixing of these soils creates new connections that deliberately thwart colonial categorisations. In February of this year, a festive ceremony was held during which additional soils and stories were added to EarthNest. The Anton Wilhelm Amo Erbschaft association brought soil from the grave of philosopher Anton Wilhelm Amo in Ghana and from the Senegalese island of Gorée. Both places are highly symbolic: Amo is considered the first known philosopher of African origin in Germany, who taught at the universities of Wittenberg, Halle and Jena in the 18th century – a life marked by intellectual brilliance, but also by discrimination. Gorée, on the other hand, with its Maison d'Esclaves, became a place of remembrance for the transatlantic slave trade.

The ceremony made clear what the Earth Stories are all about: a collective memory that combines appreciation and mourning. Participants gathered in a circle around the EarthNest, passed the vessels of earth around and paused in silence. A moment of silence, mourning and grounding. It is a sensory ceremony that creates a symbolic topography that undermines colonial boundaries and hierarchies – replacing them with connectedness, care and solidarity.

Another moment of activation for EarthNest came in June of this year. As part of the DAAD exchange programme MuseumsLab, which brings together European and African museum makers, a full-day workshop on EarthNest took place at Berlin Global Village. The focus was on how the memorial can continue to help keep memories alive. It became clear from the very first impressions that the project raises many questions. Who exactly is the target audience? Which audience should be reached? And how can the different traditions and materials that make up EarthNest be connected and communicated? The workshop offered an opportunity to shed new light on topics such as remembrance, healing and community in a global context. This resulted in a wide range of ideas – from ways to involve communities more closely to considerations about future communication formats.

Ausblick: Geschichten neu verweben
Nicht nur der Entstehungsprozess des Denkzeichens war durchzogen von der Frage, was ein lebendiges Erinnern im heutigen Berlin bedeutet – das EarthNest tut es noch immer. Die Einweihung ist daher keineswegs als Endpunkt, sondern als Ausgangspunkt zu verstehen: ein Marker im Stadtraum, der Erinnerung wachhält und dabei nicht versteinert. Gerade darin liegt die dekoloniale Qualität dieses Denkzeichens. Dekoloniales Erinnern bedeutet, koloniale Narrative nicht nur kritisch zu hinterfragen, sondern auch ihre fortwirkenden Strukturen und Logiken zu erkennen und zu unterlaufen. Es heißt, die Stimmen derer in den Mittelpunkt zu rücken, die in traditionellen Erinnerungskulturen unsichtbar blieben. Und es bedeutet, Erinnerung nicht als nationale Selbstvergewisserung zu betreiben, sondern als transnationalen, vielstimmigen sozialen Prozess.
Diesem Anspruch gerecht zu werden ist ein wichtiger Aspekt der Programmarbeit des Berlin Global Village. Dabei ist das Eine-Welt-Zentrum nicht nur räumlicher Standort, sondern aktiver Resonanzraum. Die besondere Kraft des EarthNest liegt in der Vielfalt seiner Mitwirkenden: von den Spaceholdern im Haus bis hin zu den zahlreichen externen Partner*innen. Zivilgesellschaftliche Initiativen, künstlerische Kollektive, Bildungseinrichtungen sowie Communities aus afrikanischen und afro-diasporischen Kontexten prägen und beleben das EarthNest gleichermaßen. Das Denkzeichen gewinnt seine Bedeutung nicht allein durch seine skulpturale Präsenz, sondern durch die fortlaufenden Beiträge, die es verwandeln und erweitern: mit jeder neuen Erdgeschichte, jeder Vermittlungsveranstaltung, jedem Ritual konstituiert es sich immer wieder neu.