Project management: Dr. Sophia Thubauville (Frobenius-Institute), Prof. apl. Dr. Susanne Fehlings (Frobenius-Institute)
Funding: Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Frankfurt am Main
In the spring of 2024 and the spring of 2025, the Department of Culture of the City of Frankfurt am Main granted 10,000 euros in each instance to fund the project at the Frobenius Institute in cooperation with the Frankfurt Icon Museum.
As part of the project, research partners in Ethiopia, Israel, and Georgia collected data and objects in 2024. These objects, along with the analyzed data, are scheduled to be displayed to the general public in 2027 in exhibitions at the Frobenius Institute and the Icon Museum Frankfurt. The collected objects consist primarily of everyday icons and religious paraphernalia purchased cheaply by tourists or believers for daily use at stalls, in small shops, or at bazaars. The production, sale, and use of the objects were documented, as were the stories of the people involved in these processes. Following the exhibition, both the objects and the associated research data will be divided between the Frobenius Institute and the Icon Museum and integrated into their respective collections and archives. Another goal of the project is to involve the Ethiopian and Georgian diaspora communities in Frankfurt in our work, for example through a cultural program accompanying the exhibitions.
