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We Should Talk!

The Dispute over the Minster's Nativity Scene
Exhibitions
Martin Scheible, Selbstbildnis, 1952, Öl auf Pressspanplatte, gerahmt, Leihgabe aus Privatbesitz
Martin Scheible, Weihnachtskrippe (Ausschnitt), Maria, Josef mit dem Christuskind, 1944, Ton gebrannt, Leihgabe aus Privatbesitz
Vergleichsabbildung, Bartholomäus Zeitblom, Anbetung der Könige, Tafelbild auf Sockel, um 1500, Museum Ulm
In autumn 2020, a national debate flared up over the depiction of a black king from the Nativity set, which has been displayed annually in Ulm Minster since 1992. Carved in the mid-1920s by Ulm sculptor Martin Scheible (1873-1954) on a private commission for a family in Ulm, the figure serves racist clichés and discriminatory stereotypes. With the removal of the figure and the decision of the cathedral congregation to set up the nativity scene without the Three Wise Men from the East, a controversial debate unfolded in public. The fierce reactions provide the occasion for an exhibition project that aims to objectify the discussion, point out explanatory approaches and make a contribution to postcolonial cultural mediation.
Content available online

Museum details

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Ulm
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