The Myth Collector

As part of the residency exhibition ‘Transient Landscapes’ at Spreepark Art Space (15 March to 14 June 2026), *The Myth Collector* was created as a participatory extension of the artistic work of the residency group ‘Disruptive Nostalgia’. The work evolved from a collective exploration of memories, transformations and the multi-layered narratives associated with the Spreepark site.

‘The Myth Collector’ conceives of the exhibition space not merely as a place of contemplation, but as an open space for exchange, participation and the collective retelling of stories. Visitors were invited to contribute their own memories, thoughts, imaginings and ideas, thereby becoming part of an ongoing process of myth-making.

At a specially set-up station, visitors were able to respond to various questions and prompts on coloured cards – by writing, drawing or making free-form associations. Over the course of the exhibition, the collected contributions grew into an expanding archive: a polyphonic collage of personal memories, observations, narratives, speculations and possible visions of the future.

The starting point was the question of how myths arise and what stories a changing place holds within it. Which memories endure? Which narratives emerge from personal experiences, from collective imagination or from exchanges between people? The Myth Collector created a space in which different perspectives could coexist and merge into a shared landscape of voices and fragments.

We would like to thank all the visitors who shared their thoughts, memories, drawings and ideas with us. Thanks to these contributions, the Myth Collector has become a living archive and a collective process that has extended the exhibition beyond the artistic work itself.

The resulting collection shows how landscapes are shaped not only by physical changes, but also by stories, memories and imaginations. It reveals that every place is made up of many different perceptions and narratives – and that new myths are constantly emerging through collective effort.

The Myth Collector remains as a record of this shared process: a collection of many small traces from which new stories about the Spreepark and its changing landscape can take shape.