All hands on: Basketry

Basketry is a cultural technique that is thousands of years old, practised worldwide, regionally distinctive and still a handicraft in the truest sense of the word. Humans alone have mastered the complex weaving method, with no machine capable of replacing their artisanship. The exhibition focuses on this fascinating skill and reveals the interconnections between historically evolved knowledge and modern innovations.

The exhibition’s four sections – People, Protection, Material and Patterns – offer visitors the chance to discover numerous woven everyday objects from across Europe stemming from the Museum Europäischer Kulture (MEK, Museum of European Cultures) collection. A walk-in sculptural installation by artist Olaf Holzapfel and other international contemporary art and design works using various weaving techniques offer additional perspectives on the artisanal tradition. The different topics are linked via multiple interactive stations that allow museum visitors to tactically experience the intangible cultural heritage contained in woven objects.

ALL HANDS ON: Basketry! is a special exhibition by the MEK with the Centre for Anthropological Research on Museums and Heritage (CARMAH), the European Ethnology programme at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, the European Media Studies programmes at the University of Potsdam and the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, and the Gartenarbeitsschule Steglitz-Zehlendorf. Supported by the Friede Springer Stiftung and the Verein der Freunde des MEK.