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EXHIBITION "The Joy of Life in the Shine of Ra"
Grant awarded: PLN 385,430
Total project value: PLN 725,426
Date of contract signing: November 2025
The Archaeological Museum in Poznań has been awarded a grant by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for the exhibition project “The Joy of Life in the Shine of Ra”, under the Supporting Museum Activities programme (Call for Proposals 2025).
The permanent exhibition “The Joy of Life in the Shine of Ra” will replace the exhibition “Death and Life in Ancient Egypt”, which closed to the public in June 2024. The opening of the new display is planned for autumn 2026. The exhibition is being prepared in cooperation with the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection in Berlin, which has agreed to loan objects from its collections.
The central aim of the exhibition is to present ancient Egypt from the perspective of its inhabitants. The curatorial concept is rooted in the ancient Egyptian belief in the immortality of the human soul. For the Egyptians, death was not the end of existence but the beginning of eternal life in the Afterlife, which they perceived as a mirror image of life on earth.
The exhibition emphasises the affirmation of life and the belief in the uniqueness of given time and place, deliberately departing from the predominantly funerary image of ancient Egypt shaped by objects associated with the cult of the dead. Instead, it will present artefacts that illuminate everyday life, beliefs, and values.
The exhibition will centre on objects from the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection in Berlin, including 17 artefacts currently on loan, alongside additional items being negotiated. All objects from Berlin will be loaned to Poznań on a long-term basis, free of charge. The display will be further enriched by items from the collections of the Archaeological Museum in Poznań, as well as a group of vessels on deposit from the National Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich.
The new Egyptian exhibition will be displayed in the first-floor gallery of the Górka Palace at 27 Wodna Street, which is currently undergoing comprehensive renovation. The exhibition will occupy a fully climate-controlled space with a total area of 135 m². It will be divided into two sections: one exploring everyday life and the other the afterlife, highlighting the curatorial focus on the duality of the ancient Egyptian worldview. The two sections will be arranged as mirror images, reflecting the belief in eternal existence and the affirmation of life in ancient Egypt.
An integral part of the exhibition will be an educational programme for children and families. The display will also include a variety of accessibility features. An audio guide will accompany visitors, including a dedicated track specially designed for children.
Exhibition curators:
Archaeological Museum in Poznań: Dr hab. Agnieszka Mączyńska, Kamila Dolata-Goszcz
Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, Berlin: Dr. Robert Kuhn, Rebekka Pabst
Educational programme authors: Lena Kostkowska, Joanna Teska
