Seite - 40 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Band 03/02

40 | Celica Fitz and Anna Matter www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/2, 37–51 focus on the diversity of beliefs raises the issue of how this approach might be conveyed in an exhibition which is understood as a medium of communication. how can one make these methodological and content-driven considerations clear and visible in an exhibition? the exhibition’s status as a medium of knowl- edge transfer raised specific challenges that will be discussed in this article. THE ExHIBITIon SinnRäume the exhibition SinnRäume was motivated by the wish to combine and apply mu- seology and religious studies methods and theories. the research and exhibi- tion team comprised ten students of cultural anthropology, art history, media studies, and religious studies. inspired by various seminars that integrated the collections of the Museum of religions into topics concerning religion in muse- ums or material religion in general, the group of students worked voluntarily and independently to realize an exhibition that would implement theoretical knowledge and address the question of how contemporary religion could be displayed in an exhibition. from spring 2014 until the opening of the exhibition on 29 october 2015, the team met first weekly and then, in the final phase of the project, daily. From the first discussions about theoretical approaches and issues of representation and mediation to the financing and construction of the exhibition itself, all curatorial questions were addressed in workgroups. We aimed to develop our own research questions by applying an appropriate research approach. the goal was to create novel forms and solutions for the display of contemporary religion, providing unique interactive and participatory means of access to lived religion in a reflective religious studies exhibit. Atten- tion was paid to ensuring the transfer of grounded scholarly knowledge, as well as to mediating different means of access to content. in order to grasp the phenomenon of the materialization of individual religi- osity, the project team conducted 20 narrative interviews across Germany with individuals in their homes. the SinnRäume exhibition presented eight of these personal portraits. these interviews demonstrate a broad spectrum of religious and spatial concepts, from liberal Jew rahel with her cultural understanding of religion to Catholic priest thomas in his house full of mementos and souve- nirs. there is Jessica, a follower of hare Krishna with a Krishna altar in her living room; tabish and his family, who pray together and belong to the ahmadiyya community; the nature-loving Protestant heike in her garden; esther, a hindu- influenced Roman Catholic with her Buddha statue; ascetic evangelical chaplain Markus; and spiritual physical therapist Martina with her concept of immaterial space.7 7 these eight individuals (described using their own terms) are the current eight case studies in the Sin- nRäume exhibit.