NRW Minister of Culture Brandes visits future museum location

The North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Culture, Ina Brandes, paid a visit to DOMiD in the "Hallen Kalk". Hall 70" of the former production site of Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz Werke (KHD) is home to #unserMuseum. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal government, with the support of the city of Cologne, are funding the house in order to create a place with and in which the cultural heritage of the migration society can be secured and communicated.

During her visit, Minister Brandes gained an overview of the dimensions of the planned museum building and the potential of the site. Over the next few years, a lively cultural quarter ("Osthof") and an open-air hall in the west that can be used by the neighborhood will be developed around the Migration Museum. This will create a new cultural magnet and educational location in the heart of Cologne-Kalk.

Dr. Robert Fuchs, Managing Director of DOMiD, explained the concept of the "new type of museum": "We see this as a learning museum that is created and grows by, with and for the migration society. This means all of us who live in this diverse society. People and their stories are at the center and can contribute. This can be expressed in the subsequent exhibitions, the educational program or through encounters in the varied program of events. With this open concept, we are addressing new target groups for whom cultural venues often present too many barriers."

Minister Brandes said: "I am delighted that the House of the Immigration Society is being built here in North Rhine-Westphalia in Cologne. It will be a museum, a meeting place and a space for communication and understanding. Migration is part of our society and it is good that we are telling the story of people with a migration background in this place. Thank you to the DOMiD association, which has been building up this unique collection for over 30 years and takes care of this important field of remembrance culture."

The relevance of the non-partisan cultural building project for the city of Cologne was underlined by the presence of Andree Haack, Head of Urban Development, and William Wolfgramm, Head of Real Estate, at the inspection. The City of Cologne is making the building available for museum use on a long-term basis via a heritable building right. A decision on the heritable building right is expected to be made by the Cologne City Council on March 21, 2024.