Prof. Maciej Kowalewski (University of Szczecin) was hosted at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg in October for a short-term scientific mission of the RethinkBlue Cost Action.
Prof. Kowalewski explored the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg as an example of connections between maritime professions and urban port environments as presented through exhibition narratives, collections, and curatorial strategies.
This visit indicated that it is essential to involve cultural institutions related to the maritime economy and maritime culture in networks dealing with blue economy transformations, especially for port cities, as well as the importance of presenting the achievements of female researchers involved in researching the natural environment of the oceans.
The museum’s exhibition, “Breaking the Surface”, participates in this presentation of female researchers’ contributions to marine science. The exhibition centres on eleven contemporary German female marine researchers, whose achievements remained unacknowledged for a long time. By highlighting women’s contributions in marine science, the exhibition challenges the traditional, male-dominated image of maritime domains, thereby expanding the narrative of who participates in ocean economies and research.
