What This Call for Submissions Is About
Since 1994, the museum in Berlin’s Nikolaiviertel has documented the cultural history of the hemp plant. For the upcoming special exhibition, the focus shifts from the plant to the people. The museum is seeking experiences from the era of criminalization and the years following legalization. The scope is deliberately broad, ranging from medical treatment and political activism to encounters with law enforcement.
📑 Inhaltsverzeichnis
Professional and family perspectives are explicitly welcome, including entrepreneurial decisions, workplace experiences, and the viewpoint of family members. Selected videos will become part of a permanent installation that captures German cannabis history from a personal perspective. For those wanting to understand the legal framework of this turning point, our overview of cannabis legalization in Germany provides context.
Submission Requirements
Technical requirements are deliberately kept simple. Film in landscape format using either a smartphone or camera. Videos should be approximately one to three minutes long and no larger than 250 MB. Clear audio without distracting background noise is important. Submissions go through a form on the museum’s participation page, which requires a first name, email address, and confirmation of usage rights.
Notably, the museum offers an anonymity option. If you don’t want to be recognized, you can wear a mask, use filters, film only your hands, or create a shadow silhouette. A real name is not required. This consideration is not a minor detail—it’s essential for people to share experiences that were criminal offenses before April 2024.
Understanding the Rights Clause
Participants should carefully read the terms of use. The museum reserves the irrevocable and unlimited right in time, territory, and scope to exhibit, distribute, and publicly display the submissions. This includes archival and scientific purposes. For a museum archive, such a clause is not unusual, since a collection can only be shown permanently if rights are secured. If you show your face, you’re making a decision with lasting consequences. The anonymity option is therefore much more than a courtesy.
The Long Night of Museums as Framework
The Long Night of Museums takes place on August 29, 2026, from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. About 75 Berlin institutions participate with approximately 750 events. This year’s theme is „Crime in Berlin,“ and that’s exactly where this call for submissions finds its point. Cannabis was a crime issue for decades, and in some respects it still is. A hemp museum collecting legalization stories under this theme inverts the perspective.
The institution has experience with such formats. It has previously provided information on cannabis as medicine and is a fixture in Berlin’s scene. This fits with other formats in the capital, like the Hemp Parade or the activist conference Cannabis Normal! What the museum is now undertaking, however, goes beyond a single event. It’s about securing historical sources.
Why Participating Matters
Germany’s prohibition history is well documented in terms of laws, court rulings, and statistics. What’s poorly documented is how the ban felt in individual lives. This is precisely the gap the museum wants to fill while memories are still fresh. Two years after the Cannabis Consumption Act came into effect is good timing. If you have a story to tell, you have until August 20, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Submission Deadline?
Submissions must be received by August 20, 2026. The special exhibition runs as part of the Long Night of Museums on August 29, 2026. Late submissions cannot be considered for this event.
Do I Have to Show My Face?
No. The museum explicitly provides anonymity options. You can wear a mask, use a filter, film only your hands, or create a shadow silhouette. A real name is not required—a first name and email address are sufficient for submission.
What Are the Technical Requirements?
Videos should be recorded in landscape format and run approximately one to three minutes. File size must not exceed 250 MB. Audio should be clear and intelligible, with no distracting background noise. Professional equipment is not expected.
What Happens to My Submission?
Selected videos will become part of a permanent installation documenting German cannabis history. The museum requires broad and indefinite usage rights, including archival and scientific purposes. Full terms are available on the participation page.
What Topics Are Welcome?
The scope is deliberately broad. Stories about medical treatment, political activism, interactions with police and the justice system, workplace experiences, and family perspectives are all welcome. What matters is the personal connection, not the political significance of the experience.
Würdest du deine Cannabis-Geschichte anonym für das Museum teilen?
Sources: Hemp Museum Berlin participation page for special exhibition, call from July 25, 2026 (krautinvest.de).
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