On October 16, 2025, the Museum im Kulturspeicher Würzburg opened its doors for a special artist talk with Winfried Muthesius. His project “1,000 Odysseys” is currently on display in the exterior windows and entrance areas of the MiK and invites visitors to take a closer look: photographs of shoes found between Africa and Europe. Each photograph tells a silent story of flight, hope, loss, and arrival.

In conversation with museum director Dr. Marcus-Andrew Hurttig, Muthesius spoke about his artistic career – from oil painting to pittura oscura to photography. He emphasized that his works are not created spontaneously, but are consciously planned: as in painting, it is about composition, structure, and form, without changing the actual motif.

In the second part of the evening, Dr. Pia Beckmann, founder of pics4peace and initiator of the #endlichankommen project, invited participants in the “1,000 Experiences” series to share their stories. They gave impressive descriptions of what arriving meant to them. One woman said that she only really arrived in Würzburg after decades – the moment she had the freedom to choose between Germany and Turkey. A teacher made it clear how difficult it is for children to arrive when they have to live in constant fear of deportation. Particularly moving was the account of a participant who accompanies people at the end of their lives: A woman told her that she had only truly arrived shortly before her death.

The audience was large and contributed many comments. Muthesius was impressed by how art and personal experiences resonated with each other. Dr. Hurttig also emphasized that the MiK wanted to be a place where precisely these encounters could take place.

This is precisely what the #endlichankommen project is all about: bringing people into conversation, highlighting differences, discovering commonalities, and learning from one another. Art serves as a door opener in this process—it creates a space for exchange without prejudice.

The photographs from “1,000 Odysseys” can be seen at the Museum im Kulturspeicher Würzburg until November 2, 2025.

More stories and voices can be found in the pics4peace podcast, where participants share their experiences in detail.

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