01/23 The Reading Room

January to August 2023

The Reading Room

The need for discussion and its importance does not arise because someone wants or yearns to impose their viewpoint (although it cannot be denied that many discussions happen for just this reason), but from the limitations of the individual and the imperfection of their creative and, even more, their mental capacities. Roman Ingarden, A few words on a fruitful discussion, 1961

The reading room is to be found at the very heart of Kolumba. It is a place of reflection, of reading in depth, but also of communication and discussion. In this series of events, we use this space to encourage informal (self) education in an innovative manner: every month, we read a book, an article or an essay. The reading room becomes a venue where we meet to share our thoughts about what we have read and the impressions we have garnered and to investigate themes in depth which are addressed in the exhibition. “The Reading Room” takes place every second Thursday of the month, from 5.30 pm to 7 pm. This event is conceived by our guest curator Professor Andreas Speer (Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cologne) and is moderated by a different guest each time. Participation is free. The precondition for taking part is the readiness to do some preparatory reading. The discussion will mostly be in German. If you would like to join one of the events, please send an Email to: mail@kolumba.de. The texts will then be sent to you by e-mail.