12th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art

Messy Glossary

Term

Cultural Heritage

Texts

Proposed by Samira Ghoualmia

Some museums are spaces of European accumulation. They show off stolen goods, exhibited in white glass coffins or invisible and forgotten in dark cellars, but always constructed as shared European cultural heritage. Since the beginning of their violent birth, these museums have been political demonstrations of power intended to educate. They are usually overpriced, boring, and full of dirty secrets. In 1920, Paul Valéry asked whether the Louvre should not be burned. This question has aged gracefully – unlike museums.