A reference library on public art in Hamburg and beyond

Who makes decisions about art in public sphere? Who has made art in public sphere and why? How has public art changed? ReferenzBibliothek is a collection of diverse references to art in public spaces in the city of Hamburg and beyond. We – the para-education e.V. — started by talking to key figures about their projects and their artistic practice. We refer to all materials that our interviewees name as their central points of relevance as references, without any claim to be exhaustive. Their references form the basis of the collection, which continues to grow through research by the project participants and donations. The collection includes mainly books, but also photos, videos and ephemera on public art in Hamburg, primarily from 1981 onwards.

ReferenzBibliothek traces connections, paths, links, deviations, the lost, the precarious, the artivist and global perspectives in the local, in order to map the complexity of the various stages and open it up to the public.

We are currently looking for materials on public art in Hamburg since 1981:
- Books, flyers, posters, program booklets
- Audiovisual materials (videos, photographs, interviews)
- Documentation of art actions and artistic projects
- Archive material on topics such as the culture of remembrance, protest movements and Hamburg's urban space

ReferenzBibliothek on public art opens in September 2025.

ReferenzBibliothek is a project by para-education e.V. (Dörte Habighorst, Sarah Savalanpour, Thesea Rigou and Malin Kuht) in collaboration with Stadtkuratorin Hamburg and the Ministry of Culture and Media Hamburg.

Contact: info@para-education.de