Museum seminar with the contribution of Dr. Stefan Kraus, Director of the Kolumba Museum in Cologne

A timeless, mystical space, an exceptional exhibition – this is most frequent comment about the museum raised by Peter Zumthor from the ruins of Cologne’s Saint Columbus church. The curatorial concept of the museum and its collection strategy came out of a discussion about the lack of dialogue between contemporary arts and the wider understanding of the Church. Iconic, medieval Madonnas are placed next to works of contemporary artists – rare ‘iconoclasms’ – like Joseph Beuys, Janis Kounelis, or Paul Thek, the dialogue between the sacred and the profane forms the axis of the exhibition.

Thanks to the incorporation of the contemporary artists within the exhibition strategy, the museum cannot avoid questions about the condition of contemporary spiritual life, from which the experience as expressed through contemporary art, does not need to be renounced. The seminar is an excellent opportunity not only to acquire knowledge on the specificities of this unusual, in every respect, institution, but above all it’s a unique opportunity to exchange experiences and observations with the museum’s Director.