A research and art project by the Goethe-Institut Angola
September 19, 2026–January 3, 2027
Welcome remarks: Dr. Carola Brückner, District Councilor for Culture; Dr. Ralf F. Hartmann, Artistic Director of ZAK
Introduction: Ngoi Salucombo, Program Officer at the Goethe-Institut Angola
In collaboration with Angolan artists Mussunda N’Zombo and Bruno Fonseca, the Goethe-Institut Angola has been searching for the past two years for traces of little-known chapters of German colonial presence in Angola. Drawing on reports and testimonies from German plantation owners who resided in Angola until 1975, we present a universe of diplomatic documents, interviews with former workers, archival finds, films, and family testimonies from descendants still living in Angola, as well as contemporary performance photographs.
The targeted emigration to Angola never involved an explicit territorial claim, but was directly and indirectly encouraged by the German Colonial School in Witzenhausen, secret agreements between England and Germany, corporate headquarters, colonial associations, and even West German postwar policy.
The exhibition presents this part of German-Angolan history from multiple perspectives and gives voice to a wide variety of voices.
Artist Mussunda N’Zombo will present a performance at the opening—in the presence of photographer Bruno Fonseca and historical witnesses.
Concept: Mussunda N’Zombo, Bruno Fonseca, Julia Schreiner, Ngoi Salucombo, and Sarah Mfuende
The exhibition is a collaboration between the Goethe-Institut Angola, the Department of Ecological Agricultural Sciences at the University of Kassel in Witzenhausen, the Angola–German Interest Group (Interessengemeinschaft Angola – Deutsche e.V.), and the Amadeu Antonio Foundation.
In memoriam Harald Klein
Abb.: Bruno Fonseca
