Almost exactly one year ago, on 12 April 2024, the Käte Hamburger Centre CURE was officially launched with a university celebration on the Saarbrücken campus, marking the beginning of its first funding phase and a joint research effort into cultural practices of reparation. Over the past twelve months, across a wide range of events and programmes, fellows and the centre’s team have explored, how culture might help shape the future in a world that has suffered irreparable damage.
A workshop with the anthropologist David Scott on universality and reparation; a reading by the Hong Kong–based poet Tammy Lai-Ming Ho; and sessions with artist in residence Zineb Sedira exploring her installation work and the interplay of archives, memory, and political engagement: these are just three examples of the themes and events that shaped the centre’s first months. At the same time, this period marked an intense phase of scholarly and artistic preparation for the exhibition THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA, held at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte. The exhibition features works by Sedira, along with those of fellows Géraldine Tobe and Memory Biwa. Its opening on 8 November 2024 also served as the public launch of CURE, attended by representatives from national and regional government, over 600 guests, and featuring a keynote lecture by Advisory Board member Souleymane Bachir Diagne.
A month earlier, the centre’s twelve current fellows had introduced themselves at the Käte Hamburger reception. They will continue their research at the centre through to the end of July 2025. Since November, CURE has also been co-curating the public outreach programme for THE TRUE SIZE OF AFRICA. This includes art workshops for children, two film screenings, and an evening with the author Kossi Efoui, who spent four winter months in Saarbrücken as artist in residence.
In recent months, the centre has also welcomed Romance studies scholar Ottmar Ette and Franco-German writer and translator Anne Weber for workshops, lectures and readings. In these events, in the Käte Hamburger Lectures by fellows, and in its working groups, centre members have discussed topics ranging from autobiographical narratives of reparation to colonial (re)mappings of the world and the role of cultural artefacts and memory in wartime. CURE has also been out and about in the world, giving talks at international conferences, taking part in radio interviews, and even visiting local schools.
Beyond the centre’s public-facing work, CURE’s reflections on how cultural practices might respond to what cannot be repaired continue through the rhythms of everyday exchange: in hallway conversations, email threads about research questions, entries in the living document of CURE terms, or at the monthly Tuesday dinner.
CURE’s website also launched in autumn 2024. It makes past events accessible via its archive. The news section, events calendar and blog offer a glimpse of current research and upcoming programming. Work is currently focused on organising CURE’s first annual conference – more details coming soon.
