Museum closed - Experience Käthe Kollwitz virtually

The Kollwitz avatar is waiting in the museum foyer for a talk

The Kollwitz avatar stands ready for a conversation in the museum foyer. The exhibition at the Käthe Kollwitz Museum has been temporarily closed since April 22. The artworks have been stored for the final construction phase at the new museum location, while the exhibition architecture is being installed in the rooms on the first floor.

In order to still be able to present the artist Käthe Kollwitz to museum visitors during this phase, she was digitally visualised and made to speak using the latest AI technology. As a Kollwitz avatar, she now stands ready in the museum foyer to answer visitors’ questions about her life and work – in 55 languages, orally or in writing. The avatar generates the answers primarily from diary texts and letters written by Käthe Kollwitz.

The Avatar premiered on 15 April 2025 to great media interest. Numerous media representatives from radio, television and the written press wanted to familiarise themselves with this innovation in the museum sector. Thanks to the ‘Digital Development in the Cultural Sector’ funding programme, it was possible to develop and implement the elaborate project. The artistic design of the Kollwitz figure in 3D animation was created by Alla Popp, who works in Berlin in the field of performance art and media design. The software development of the avatar in an AI-supported dialogue system was carried out by the company IT intouch from Bergisch-Gladbach.