GELD

The exhi­bi­tion doc­u­ments how mon­ey has become what it is today. It show­cas­es old and brand-new forms of mon­ey, very small and very large denom­i­na­tions, valu­able and worth­less coins – and recalls many a cat­a­stro­phe into which mon­ey has plunged us, or from which we would not have escaped with­out it. Above all, this archae­o­log­i­cal per­spec­tive pos­es one cru­cial ques­tion: Does mon­ey have a future?

From deal­ing with mon­ey, from earn­ing and increas­ing it, to hoard­ing it, to ques­tions of its ori­gin and its use as a cul­tur­al prac­tice, this exhi­bi­tion offers numer­ous thought-pro­vok­ing ideas that can also be viewed in rela­tion to eco­nom­ics, trans­paren­cy, val­ues, and the seem­ing­ly lim­it­less pos­si­bil­i­ties it presents. Thus, this exhi­bi­tion becomes a fas­ci­nat­ing and engag­ing explo­ration for all ages.

A mul­ti­fac­eted, com­pre­hen­sive cat­a­logue has been pub­lished to accom­pa­ny the exhi­bi­tion. It pro­vides a sum­ma­ry of the most impor­tant ideas, exam­ples, and objects from the spe­cial exhi­bi­tion, serv­ing both as a com­pan­ion vol­ume and as a source of inspi­ra­tion for think­ing about mon­ey in a com­plete­ly dif­fer­ent way.