The eleventh edition of the series HERE AND NOW at Museum Ludwig. De/Collecting Memories from Turtle Island, takes the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States in 2026 as an opportunity to critically examine its own collections. As the museum with the most extensive Pop Art collection outside the USA, the institution has always been closely linked to the art and culture of the United States. Historical landscape photochromes from the collection are juxtaposed with contemporary works by US indigenous artists Marie Watt (born 1967 in Seattle) and Wendy Red Star (born 1981) in order to sharpen the eye for the construction of narratives and for the voices that are often missing in them. The artists’ works negotiate the construction of memory, history, and visual traditions from different artistic perspectives. Both question Western notions of indigeneity, museum categories, and visual stereotypes, thus expanding the collection with the perspectives and voices of the indigenous peoples of America. The exhibition deals with collected images, visual archives, and mental representations, inviting viewers to deconstruct, reinterpret, and rewrite them.

Further information on the exhibition HERE AND NOW at Museum Ludwig. De/Collecting Memories from Turtle Island