May 29 – June 1, 11am – 5 pm (presentation: June 2, 5 pm)
What is going to happen with the old warehouse of the Afrika Terminal? Situated on Baakenhöft the Afrika Terminal was built in 1969 and served as a warehouse for cacao and other goods coming from Africa until 2014. It is the last remaining structure that reminds us of the history of the Baakenhafen, that has been the main port for shipping from and to Afrika in the time of german colonialism. As part of the Hafencity the Baakenhöft is going to be transformed in the years to come. In this workshop we would like to explore the possibility of turning the Afrika Terminal into an African Terminal of a new nature. This acknowledges the responsibilities Hamburg has in regard to its colonial history. And it responds to developments which brought thousands of people from Africa to Hamburg in recent years. Many of them try to build business relations to improve the lifes of communities in their countries of origin. This includes, among others, the informal trade with used goods through Hamburg port that has been organised by african migrants and their partners throughout the last decades.
The workshop is going to ask: Could an African Terminal support these efforts and become a centre for small scale trade between Europe and Africa that is giving new perspectives to african citizens and migrants in Hamburg? Could an African Terminal become a place for all citizens of Hamburg to experience how the port is connecting communities globally / via the sea? How can cultural production help with these objectives? How can art and trade work together on this?
The workshop is part of geheimagentur’s Hamburg Port Hydrarchy project, that generally aims to find ways of reclaiming Hamburg port for citizen’s use.
