Museum Selma: Our Position on the Location

DOMiD is reviewing the significantly scaled-back Migration Museum at the Cologne-Kalk site

The Kulturzentrum am Neumarkt (KAN) cannot serve as the home of the Museum Selma. This is the conclusion reached following extensive assessments. As a result, the museum’s governing body, DOMiD, is now exploring the possibility of realising the Museum Selma at its original location, Halle 70 in Cologne-Kalk, within the allocated budget, by making significant cuts to the spatial programme.

Procurement and funding regulations as an obstacle

Following the Cologne City Council’s decision in March to consider relocating the Museum Selma construction project to the Kulturzentrum am Neumarkt (KAN), the feasibility of this alternative was assessed. Initial findings point clearly in one direction:
Locating the museum at Neumarkt entails significant project risks – risks that the client cannot take. In particular, initial assessments by the Cologne District Government, as the supervisory authority for funding and procurement law, render this location unrealistic: a new procurement procedure would most likely be necessary. However, initial funding-related assessments for the KAN show that a repetition of service phases 1–3 within the framework of the existing funding application is not possible. The final assessment is still pending.

DOMiD is taking action

The general meeting of DOMiD, the organisation responsible for the museum, has decided not to pursue this option any further due to the numerous project risks involved. “We are grateful to those involved who, through their great commitment, made it possible to explore this alternative. As the project developer, it is our responsibility to decide at all times, based on the information available, which approach offers the most realistic way of realising the museum building,” says DOMiD Managing Director Robert Fuchs.

During the council debate and in public discourse, it has become clear just how much support the Museum Selma enjoys in the city. “Our hearts have always been set on Kalk. The other options are off the table. There are no further funds available, nor is integration into the KAN possible. Realising the Museum Selma in Hall 70 is only feasible if the agreed spatial programme is significantly scaled back. That is painful, but it is the route we will now explore.”

Focus on Kalk: Scaled-down plans for Hall 70 under review

Over the coming weeks, DOMiD will assess the feasibility of this approach and present it to the funding bodies. Close cooperation with the city administration is crucial to the project’s success, given the tight deadlines and the numerous project interfaces. If, following DOMiD’s assessments, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia releases planning funds from the existing grant money for a scaled-down redesign of Hall 70 in Kalk, DOMiD will be able to plan a significantly reduced version of the museum. Such a preliminary design is a prerequisite for being able to draw down federal funds by 31 December 2026.

A central hub for the cultural heritage of the migrant community

“The Museum Selma fulfils a public duty: it preserves the cultural heritage of the migrant community and aims to make this accessible to a wide public through a unique exhibition. We are talking about almost a third of the population, which is being represented on this scale for the first time,” says DOMiD board member and co-founder Ahmet Sezer. “We regret that politicians are not supporting an institution of this national stature by covering the additional costs caused by inflation. As the initiators and developers, we bear the responsibility for realising this widely shared vision of a nationally significant venue for social cohesion.”