By the end of the course, students will be able to:
− Critically examine how objects and collections communicate cultural and historical narratives.
− Develop creative strategies to “activate” ordinary objects through storytelling and interaction.
− Conduct practical archival and object-based research in online and on-site collections.
− Collaborate to curate and present their work to a public audience
The Secret Life of Objects: Archiving and Storytelling through Everyday Things
The Secret Life of Objects: Archiving and Storytelling through Everyday Things
Objects are never just things. They carry stories, memories, and meanings. Sometimes hidden, sometimes
questioned. This course explores how ordinary and overlooked objects can be archived and activated into
powerful carriers for memory, identity and used as tools for storytelling and interaction.
Through online seminars, students will be introduced to theories and practices around objects, collections, and archives, engaging readings like Dawn Raffel’s The Secret Life of Objects, Yanagi Sōetsu’s The Beauty of Everyday Things, and Craig Staff’s The Materiality of the Archive.
We will discuss how artists, museums, and archives work with material culture to provoke questions, preserve memory, and spark audience participation.
In the on-site week, participants will visit archival and museum collections in Weimar (such as the Archiv
der Moderne and Bauhaus-Universität Weimar Bibliothek) to conduct hands-on research. Each student will select an object, ordinary or overlooked, and develop a creative archival project. These may take the form of interactive installations, conceptual collections, performative storytelling, or digital narratives.
The week will conclude with a group-built “alternative museum,” where participants present their projects
for the Bauhaus Spring School Open Studios. Together, we will reveal the surprising, layered lives of the
objects around us.
Key Readings
− Sue Breakell and Wendy Russell – The Materiality of the Archive: Creative Practice in Context
(2024)
− András Szántó (ed.) – The Future of the Museum: 28 Dialogues (2020)
− Yanagi Sōetsu – The Beauty of Everyday Things (2019 translation by Brase, M.)
− Dawn Raffel – The Secret Life of Objects (2012)
− Don Norman - The Design of Everyday Things (2013 ed)
NOTE:
This course includes an attendance phase in Weimar from March 12 to March 21, 2026.
Students (bachelor/master/PhD) from the faculties Art and Design and Media Art as well as museum and curatorial studies, history, sociology, anthropology and philosophy who are creative, curious and
appreciate the beauty and craft in everyday objects.
Your application should be submitted until November 2nd, 2025.
Required application documents:
- Letter of Nomination (applicants financed by the BIP scholarship from the partner universities)
- CV
- Letter of motivation or a short motivation video (max. 1min)
- Portfolio
- English language certificate (test certificate or a letter from your university stating your English language knowledge)
The course fee is 300 EURO and includes:
- Orientation & Support
- Programme according to description
- Teaching materials
- Certificate
- Free use of library
The course fee does not include:
- Travel costs
- Accommodation
- Insurance
Participants, coming from the partner universites in the framework of Erasmus BIP scholarship and BUW students don't pay the course fee.
In addition to the Spring School courses, we offer a comprehensive "Service Package", which includes participation in the excursions and social programme, free entrance to the museums, shuttle-service on the day of arrilval and lunch (from Mon - Fri) in the student cafeteria. The booking of the Service Package for €70 is optional.
Students who do not take up the Service Package are automatically required to pay a course deposit of €100. This is to protect us against costs incurred by non-participation. Since in this case, the universities will not receive any funding from the European Commission. The deposit will be refunded as soon as the participants start the course in Weimar.
Please note our terms and conditions (admission conditions, cancellation conditions etc.)
3 ECTS
BUW students: please check with the academic programme coordinator for credit recognition.