The Benjamin Berlin Project: Practices of public remembering in cities in crises

Creation of audio guides and sound pieces to explore alternative practices of public remembering.

Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) was a German Jewish philosopher, cultural critic, and essayist whose work bridged Marxist theory, critical theory, and literary criticism. Benjamin’s work spanned an array of disciplines, including aesthetics, history, literature, and theology. He is best known for his profound analyses of art, culture, and modernity, which continue to influence fields such as media studies, cultural theory, and philosophy.

Led by the School of Geography and Planning, this project developed an audio guide/sound piece for selected places in Berlin to allow the wider public to engage with Benjamin’s life and work about key critical theory concepts and contemporary urban development.

Practices of public remembering

The project sought to advance alternative practices of public remembering and engagement with contemporary urban developments. This collaborative project was based on academic research on Benjamin and worked alongside the Walter Benjamin Archive, Academy of the Arts Berlin,  Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, and POLIGONAL – a practice of urban communication with artistic approaches.

The project developed a ‘Benjamin in Berlin topography’ that mapped places where Benjamin lived and worked, places he wrote about, places where he is publicly remembered, and places of relevance for Benjamin’s oeuvre. These areas included Magdeburger Platz, Walter Benjamin Platz and Prinzregentenstrasse 66, each exploring concepts of disorientation, authoritarian spaces, and ‘brushing history against the grain’.

Bringing together primary and secondary literature, field recordings, interviews, and research conducted using archives in Berlin, a script was produced for a public performance by two actresses and two sound artists performed in the Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf on 20 October 2024.

Sound pieces from the performance are available on the POLIGONAL Drifter platform as well as on the Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmersdrof website.

Next steps

The project team are considering options for follow-on funding to develop sound pieces for additional places from the Benjamin Berlin topology and develop a methodology for ‘critical public remembering’ beyond the use of plaques, statues, and street names that can be applied to Benjamin and other historical figures.

Contact

For mor information about this project, contact: