Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City

What Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City does

Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City was a time-limited, publicly funded collaborative cultural project based in Berlin that examined (post-)colonial effects on a German metropolis through four interlocking sub-projects: digital mapping of colonial histories (Dekoloniale Geschichte[n]), creative and critical artistic interventions in public space (In[ter]ventionen), collaborative exhibition projects with Berlin district museums ([Re]präsentationen), and advisory services for museums on decolonization practice (Entwicklung[en]). Operated as a consortium (Gemeinschaftsprojekt) jointly by four Berlin-based organizations — public-law foundation Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin, and registered associations Berlin-postkolonial e.V., Each One Teach One e.V. (EOTO), and Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland e.V. (ISD) — the project ran for a defined five-year term from 2020 to 2024, anchored on annual festivals rotating through Berlin's eastern (2021), southern (2022), western (2023), and northern (2024) districts, plus artist residencies, decolonial city walks, think-tank series, and quarterly museum roundtables.

The project's underlying technology consisted of a multilingual public-facing website (nine languages: German, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, isiXhosa) hosting the digital mapping archive, supplemented by standard marketing and analytics tooling (Google Analytics, Mailchimp, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube). No proprietary software platform, API, or AI/ML systems were disclosed. The project reached audiences in Berlin, across Germany, and in Germany's former colonies through the multilingual digital infrastructure and a network of more than 200 scholars, artists, activists, and cultural workers.

Dekoloniale operated on a non-commercial model: all programming, exhibitions, festivals, and resources were provided free of charge to the public, with no pricing or paywall structure. Revenue, to the extent the term applies, consisted entirely of institutional grants from two public funders — Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation) and Senatsverwaltung für Kultur (Berlin Senate Department for Culture) — the specific amounts of which were not publicly disclosed. The project officially concluded in 2024, with the website no longer updated and a final retrospective publication released in September 2025.

Name

Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City

Legal name

Dekoloniale Erinnerungskultur in der Stadt (Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City) — a collaborative project (Gemeinschaftsprojekt) jointly operated by Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin, Berlin-postkolonial e.V., Each One Teach One e.V. (EOTO), and Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland e.V. (ISD)

Website

https://dekoloniale.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City was a Berlin-based, five-year publicly funded collaborative cultural project (2020–2024) that examined (post-)colonial effects on the city through digital mapping, annual festivals, museum collaborations, and advisory services for the general public and Berlin district museums.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage Education

NAICS

Historical Sites (71212), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

History Museums (THAJADAB), Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC), Political, Social History & Civic Tours (THAJAAAK), Historic Preservation & Conservation Planning (BPAHAKAH)

Keywords

• Cultural memory programs
• Decolonization consulting
• Public history exhibitions
• Community cultural festivals
• Museum decolonization services

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Project Funding / Grant Funding: Dekoloniale is a five-year model project funded by institutional grants, primarily from the Berlin Senate Department for Culture (Senatsverwaltung für Kultur) and the German Federal Cultural Foundation (Kulturstiftung des Bundes). The project concluded in 2024 and does not operate on a commercial revenue model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City is a five-year collaborative cultural project (2020-2024) that examined (post-)colonial effects on Berlin through four interconnected sub-projects: a multilingual digital mapping platform of colonial histories, artistic interventions in public space (festivals, think tanks, city walks), museum exhibition collaborations with Berlin district museums, and advisory services for museums on decolonization of collections and exhibitions. The project has concluded, with a final book publication released in September 2025.

Product overview

Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City is a collaborative cultural and educational project focused on examining (post-)colonial effects in Berlin and making invisible colonial histories visible. The project operates as a platform with multiple interconnected offerings: (1) Dekoloniale Geschichte[n] - a digital mapping platform cataloging colonial histories locally and in Germany's former colonies; (2) In[ter]ventionen - artistic interventions including festivals, think tank series, and public space projects; (3) [Re]präsentationen - museum exhibition collaborations; and (4) Entwicklung[en] - museum consulting and decolonization advisory services. The project concluded in 2024 after five years, with a final book publication released in September 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dekoloniale Geschichte[n]: Sub-project focusing on digital mapping of interwoven colonial histories locally, nationwide, and in Germany's former colonies.
• In[ter]ventionen
• [Re]präsentationen
• Entwicklung[en]
• Dekoloniale Berlin Residency
• [Re]visionen Think Tank

Products and services

• Dekoloniale Geschichte[n] (Stories/Maps) A multilingual digital mapping platform that makes colonial histories concrete and tangible locally in Berlin, nationwide in Germany, and in Germany's former colonies. Developed in collaboration with local initiatives to digitally map an intertwined past, accessible in 9 languages.
• In[ter]ventionen (Interventions) Creative and critical engagement with colonial history made visible through festivals, the [Re]visionen Think Tank series, artistic interventions, city walks, and the Dekoloniale Berlin Residency, bringing postcolonial memory culture into public space.
• [Re]präsentationen (Representations) Collaborative exhibition projects with Berlin district museums across the city's east, south, west, and north districts, providing museum consulting and guidance on handling collection objects from colonial contexts.
• Entwicklung[en] (Developments) Advisory services for museums on decolonization projects and handling of collection objects from colonial contexts, including the four-part Museum Decolonization workshop series and quarterly museum roundtables.
• Dekoloniale Festival Annual festival serving as the programmatic highlight of each project year, combining artistic performances, panel discussions, city walks, and the Dekoloniale Berlin Residency. Each edition rotates through a different Berlin district to explore colonial history and resistance history locally.
• Dekoloniale Berlin Residency Annual artist residency program inviting visual artists, performers, and musicians to Berlin to create work engaging with decolonial themes, showcased during the annual Dekoloniale Festival.
• Dekoloniale City Walk Decolonial guided walking tours through Berlin districts, exploring the colonial history and resistance history of specific urban areas as part of the festival programming.
• [Re]visionen Think Tank Series A series of think tanks, lectures, and panel discussions inviting experts from various disciplines to reflect on (non-)central commemoration, documentation, learning, and memory sites that engage critically with colonialism and anti-colonial resistance.
• Museum Decolonization Workshop Series 2023 A four-part workshop series launched in April 2023 in collaboration with Mitte Museum, Botanical Garden/Botanical Museum, and Brücke Museum, exploring how to achieve museum decolonization practices across collections, exhibitions, and institutional structures, with twelve museum professionals participating.
• Museum Roundtables Quarterly roundtables on colonial and decolonization topics involving Berlin state museums and museums from other German federal states, facilitating knowledge exchange on handling colonial-era collections.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.

• Berlin District Museums Work Group (ABR) / District Museums (Mitte, Botanical Garden/Botanical Museum, Brücke Museum)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Established quarterly museum roundtables and conducted the four-part 'Museum Decolonization' workshop series (April–July 2023) with three Berlin museums and twelve museum professionals, exploring decolonization practices across collections, exhibitions, and institutional structures.
• Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin — Decolonization Competence CenterflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Collaborative partner in the 'Museum Decolonization' workshop series, providing expertise on decolonization processes for Berlin's municipal museums.
• Berliner Museumsverband e.V. (Berlin Museums Association)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Collaborative partner in the 'Museum Decolonization' workshop series, supporting knowledge exchange among Berlin's museum sector on decolonization.
• Berlin HTW (University of Applied Sciences) — Museum Management & Communication ProgramminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021A group of master's students from the Museum Management & Communication program partnered with Dekoloniale and Treptow Museum to develop content for the 'zurückGESCHAUT' exhibition, exploring 'colonial continuities in urban space' and 'clothing and resistance.' Project ran for two semesters, culminating in February 2022.
• German Technology Museum (Deutsches Technikmuseum)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaborated on the model project 'Colonial History at the German Technology Museum — New Perspectives on Brandenburg-Prussian Slave Trade.' Dekoloniale partnered with artists Monilola Olayemi Ilupeju and Philip Kojo Metz on performance works 'Wayward Dust' and 'SEK' for the removal of an inappropriate art installation, broadcast live on International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade (August 23, 2020). Ongoing collaboration with museum staff through four seminars.
• Museums outside Berlin (Museum Folkwang, Focke Museum, German Port Museum, Museum of Applied Arts Frankfurt, others)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Participating museums in the Berlin museum decolonization roundtables from other German federal states, expanding the network beyond Berlin.
• Berlin Postkolonial eVcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019A Berlin-based non-profit association dedicated to Black German history and anti-racism. Co-initiator and project partner responsible for the 'Geschichte[n]' (Stories) subproject. Led by Christian Kopp.
• Each One Teach One (EOTO) eVcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019A Berlin-based initiative focused on education and empowerment for Black people in Germany. Responsible for the 'In[ter]ventionen' and '[Re]visions' subprojects. Led by Nadja Ofuatey-Alazard.
• Initiative Black People in Germany (ISD) eVcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019A Black German activist organization. Responsible for general project pages and outreach to the Black community in Germany. Led by Anna Yeboah.
• Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin (Berlin City Museum Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019The public-law foundation responsible for Berlin's cultural history museum. Responsible entity for the website's legal operation and hosting. Project partner and fiscal sponsor.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Royal Museum for Central Africa (AfricaMuseum): Belgian museum that underwent a major physical and narrative renovation to address its colonial legacy; directly comparable to the museum-side work Dekoloniale conducted with Berlin institutions, and a benchmark for European colonial museum transformation.
• Berlin-postkolonial e.V. Berlin-based non-profit dedicated to Black German history and anti-racism; co-initiator of Dekoloniale and lead on the Geschichte[n] subproject. Operates in the same Berlin decolonization ecosystem and serves overlapping audiences (researchers, activists, community organizers).
• Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland (ISD) e.V. Black German activist organization and co-initiator of Dekoloniale; responsible for community outreach to the Black community in Germany. Functions in the same decolonization/anti-racism space with overlapping audience.
• Museum Folkwang: Essen-based museum that partnered with Dekoloniale in the museum decolonization roundtables; comparable as a German federal-state museum working through colonial provenance issues in its collection.
• Weltmuseum Wien: Vienna's world museum focused on ethnographic collections and their colonial provenance; actively engaged in decolonization debates and repatriation. Comparable as a European cultural institution working on colonial memory culture.
• Each One Teach One (EOTO) e.V. Berlin-based education and empowerment initiative for Black people in Germany; co-initiator of Dekoloniale and lead on In[ter]ventionen and [Re]visionen. Direct peer in delivering decolonization programming to community audiences.
• Tropenmuseum Amsterdam: Amsterdam museum on tropical cultures and colonial history with an active decolonization program; comparable to Dekoloniale in focusing on critical examination of colonial collections and public-facing decolonization discourse in a European capital.

Broad incumbents

• Deutsches Historisches Museum: Germany's national history museum in Berlin; broader incumbent in German historical interpretation that has had to address the absence of colonial history from its core narrative — directly relevant to the policy challenge Dekoloniale addresses.
• Humboldt Forum: Berlin-based major cultural complex housing the Ethnologisches Museum and Museum für Asiatische Kunst with significant colonial collections; sits at the center of Berlin's colonial memory debates that Dekoloniale actively engages with.

Others

• Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste: German federal foundation documenting Nazi-looted cultural property, with expanding remit into colonial-era provenance research; thematically adjacent to Dekoloniale's museum advisory work on colonial collection objects.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCFXKokZGuN-HjhdNUCmAIzg
• Facebookfacebook.com/DekolonialeBerlin
• Instagraminstagram.com/dekoloniale

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City