The exhibition looks back on a two-year art project by the artist collective Observatorium, developed in response to the collapse of the Cologne City Archive. It presents a model, drawings, objects, photographic works, a book, an edition, and contributions by invited artists Erik Bakke, Roman Mensing and Marja Zomer.
Before the exhibition, the book will be presented with introductions by curator Kay von Keitz and art historian Regina Sasse.
**Zu dieser Tragödie sollen wir ein Kunstwerk machen?**
(*Are We Supposed to Make an Artwork About This Tragedy?*)
Edited by Andre Dekker – Artists' Collective OBSERVATORIUM
The German-language book describes the impact of the archive's collapse on the collective experience of life in Cologne. It documents the design and use of the pavilion, alongside collected eyewitness accounts, analyses, personal archives, photographs and literary reflections, with original illustrations and contributions from well-known Cologne writers and curators.
The book reflects on anger, grief and memory, leading to discussions about administrative failures and the future of the disaster site, where restoration work continues underground.
Together with the citizens' initiative *Archivkomplex*, Observatorium developed proposals for urban regeneration that incorporate memory and commemoration.
The book was published in September 2026 by Emons Verlag in Cologne and is available at the exhibition and from Nai Booksellers at the Nieuwe Instituut.
### Panorama Waidmarkt
At the invitation of the Cologne city authorities, Observatorium carried out a two-year art project titled *Panorama Waidmarkt*.
Waidmarkt, in the heart of Cologne, borders the site where the *Historisches Archiv der Stadt Köln* (Historical Archive of the City of Cologne) collapsed into an excavation pit for the new metro line in 2009.
*Panorama Waidmarkt* was a temporary archive pavilion with 24 doors, situated opposite the disaster site. For two months, it functioned as a publicly accessible structure hosting conversations, logbook contributions, guided tours, lectures, concerts and exhibitions.
The archive documenting these activities has been transferred to the rebuilt City Archive.
The archive building where the current exhibition is being held bears a strong resemblance to the Cologne archive building that collapsed in 2009.