Joanne Rodriguez

Email: jrodrig2@uni-bonn.de

I am a Doctoral Research Fellow with the Argelander Professorship for Critical Museum and Heritage Studies. In my research I explore the intersection of the climate crisis, sustainability and climate justice, with a particular focus on the sustainability strategies and knowledge transfer practices of German art institutions. My research seeks to investigate how the concepts of sustainability, decolonization and climate justice intersect within institutional frameworks and how they can foster diverse perspectives in exhibition formats.

By examining art institutions as mediators of various epistemologies, I aim to uncover the potential they hold for facilitating new ways of thinking and understanding, particularly in relation to these pressing global issues.

In my curatorial practice I have worked closely with artists to curate exhibitions like Hier und Jetzt. Antikoloniale Eingriffe at the Museum Ludwig, where we critically engaged with the collection through an anti-colonial lens. The artists investigated for example how figures from Classical Modernism perpetuate an exoticizing gaze on the so-called Global South, identifying works in need of critical re-examination while highlighting those that present alternative narratives. The artists’ interventions expressed aesthetic, epistemological and spatial resistance within the museum space. Additionally, in collaboration with the Akademie der Künste der Welt in Cologne, we developed a decolonial study program to enhance the exhibition’s critical framework.

My work frequently addresses power structures in different exhibition spaces in connection with ecological questions, aiming to challenge and rethink traditional hierarchies. I therefore deal with issues such as water, the concept of biotic nativeness and collective work methodologies. As an independent curator I am currently planning further projects focusing on collective curatorial practices and research.

My academic background includes an M.A. in Literature, Art and Media Studies from the University of Konstanz, complemented by study and research periods in Spain (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) and Chile (Universidad de Valparaíso), supported by DAAD and Erasmus scholarships.

Publications

Exhibition catalogue “HI­ER UND JET­ZT im Mu­se­um Lud­wig. An­tikolo­niale Ein­griffe”, hrsg. von Joanne Ro­driguez, mit Text­beiträ­gen von Ochy Curiel, Yil­maz Dziewior, Ele­na Rosau­ro und Sarah Fa­ti­ma Schütz, Deutsch/En­glisch, teil­weise Spanisch, ca. 224 Seit­en, Ver­lag der Buch­hand­lung Walther und Franz König, Köln, ISBN 978-3-7533-0491-5