The Erfurt Department of Culture is currently working intensively on the structural reorganization of its depots. In the past, two expert reports have drawn attention to the clearly deficient situation of the Erfurt museums' depots.

"We are now tackling the issue in two ways: With the concrete needs assessment and the necessary specialist planning. But also with an information campaign on the topic," says Director of Culture Christian Horn. In June 2023, the Department of Culture offered a public tour of one of its depot locations in Salinenstraße, which was combined with an information event on the new depot planning.

The exhibition is now a further component of the public information services. Dirk Rauscher's installation draws attention to the rich depot holdings that are not visible to the general public. In the video installation, digital recordings of collection objects that Rauscher created in the depots of Erfurt's museums are transformed into an artistic visual cosmos. They can be seen as projections in three rooms of the Defensionskaserne and are accompanied by sounds.

In addition to the video installation, information boards in another room will provide a factual overview of the current depot situation and future improvement requirements.

Motion designer Rauscher creates elaborate national and international mappings and public lighting installations. He is involved as a designer in video productions for various musicians. "Dirk Rauscher skillfully transposes people and objects into new digital worlds. Seeing our depot inventories anew in such imaginary settings fires our imagination. We want to use this energy for the vision of new depot spaces for the Erfurt museums," says Horn.

The event in the Defensionskaserne is also the first test run for the Department of Culture to use the venue for new, experimental exhibition formats in the long term. On behalf of the city council, it is currently developing a master plan that envisages the future use of a 500 square meter section of the barracks for new exhibition formats.