Every Reference a Tone

Hamburg’s public spaces are home to fascinating and influential works of art, monuments, and artistic projects. However, their stories and origins have never been documented or told. Since the beginning of the year, the Reference Library on Public Art has been dedicated to filling this gap. Building on an Open Lab, the non-profit association para-education collects books, photographs, videos and ephemera related to public art in Hamburg and beyond, which are now being published in form of a website.

At the Kunsthaus, the collection will be introduced performatively, the new website of the ReferenceLibrary will be presented and insights into plans for 2026 will be shared. A first selection of publications will be physically accessible to the public in the foyer of the Kunsthaus, without prior registration.

ReferenceLibrary is a project by para-education (Dörte Habighorst, Thesea Rigou Efstathopoulos, Malin Kuht and Sarah Savalanpour). It was initiated by the City Curator Hamburg and evolves in cooperation with Kunsthaus Hamburg and the Ministry of Culture and Media Hamburg. Thanks to the support of the Elbkulturfonds, the project will continue in 2026.

Kindly supported by: