Joseph Beuys and National Socialism – A laboratory space

From 30 March 2025

The research project Joseph Beuys and National Socialism – A Laboratory Space was developed as part of the research traineeship programme ‘Forschungsvolontariat Kunstmuseen NRW’ at Museum Schloss Moyland. This programme has been running since April 2023 and is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. It addresses the critical reassessment of the history of the artist Joseph Beuys (1921–1986), focusing on his role in National Socialism and his later positioning on this matter.

The Museum Schloss Moyland Foundation not only owns the most extensive collection of works by the artist, but also holds a unique archive dedicated to and about Joseph Beuys. This inventory of collection and archive materials provides both the occasion and the basis for a critical exploration of the topic. The results of the research project will be presented in a participatory laboratory space (exhibition space) on the first floor of the castle, within the permanent presentation on Joseph Beuys, starting on 30 March 2025. The laboratory space will feature multimedia information about Joseph Beuys' youth, his time as a soldier, and his involvement in the 1957 competition for a memorial at the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. This range of information also includes interviews with researchers on Joseph Beuys, as well as with pupils and students. The interdisciplinary project is being realised in collaboration with Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.

Curated by Angela Steffen