Guided tours, sea rescue and art talks: the City Museum invites you to its August programme

With guided tours, talks, art discussions and other event formats, the Bocholt City Museum is offering a varied programme this August. A key feature is the current special exhibition "Heavy Steps: Bocholt Stories of Flight and New Beginnings".

In addition, two public guided tours of the Bocholt Stadtwald camp are scheduled for the end of the month.

""We are now looking forward to launching the extensive programme of events,"" says Lisa Resing, director of the Bocholt City Museum. Over the coming months, the exhibition will be explored in greater depth from a wide variety of perspectives through workshops, talks, dance performances, plays, readings and other formats.  The museum hopes to appeal to a variety of audiences and offer different ways of engaging with the themes of flight, migration, loss and new beginnings.

The first event in the upcoming programme will be a public guided tour of the special exhibition "Schwere Schritte" on Thursday 13 August 2026 at 4.30 pm.

It combines historical and contemporary perspectives on flight and migration with personal life stories from Bocholt and the artistic works created specifically for the exhibition.

Immediately afterwards, the focus shifts to the present: at 6.30 pm, Kai Echelmeyer, a board member of the maritime rescue organisation Sea-Eye, will speak about maritime rescue in the Mediterranean.

The talk will provide insights into the work of civilian rescue organisations and address the conditions, dangers and challenges along the refugee routes across the Mediterranean. There will be another opportunity to explore the special exhibition as part of a public guided tour on Thursday, 20 August, at 4 pm.

On Tuesday 25 August, the City Museum is offering two different ways to experience the exhibition. At 4.00 pm, a short guided tour lasting around 45 minutes will begin, providing a concise overview of key themes, biographies and artistic perspectives.

This will be followed at 5.00 pm by the "Meet the Artist" session. Here, participating artists will present their works in person and offer insights into their ideas,

working methods and their artistic engagement with the exhibition's themes. The event kicks off with Anke Hochgartz and her work "Kehrseiten" and Sieglinde Potthoff with "Flucht - Weg - Ankunft".

Contribution from project partners

This wide-ranging programme of events would not be possible without the involvement of numerous project partners. The Stadtmuseum would like to thank all those involved for their tremendous support in developing and implementing the various events.

At the end of the month, the City Museum will turn its attention to another significant historical site in Bocholt. On Friday 28 August at 6 pm, there will be a public guided tour of the Bocholt Stadtwald camp.

The tour explores the eventful history of the site and brings historical developments to life right there at the authentic location.

On Saturday 29 August at 11.00 am, there will be a special event for children and young people.

In a short, age-appropriate guided tour, young visitors will learn about the history of the Stadtwaldlager and will be able to ask their questions right there on site.

On Sunday 30 August 2026, the City Museum, together with the Bocholt City Archives, will be present at the Culture Days on Bocholt's market square. At an all-day hands-on activity stall for children, young visitors can get creative by writing with pen and ink. The activity is free of charge and open to all without prior registration.

An overview of the August events:

13 August 2026 | 4.30 pm: Public guided tour of "Schwere Schritte"

13 August 2026 | 6.30 pm: Talk "Sea Rescue in the Mediterranean" with Kai Echelmeyer, Sea-Eye

20 August 2026 | 4.00 pm: Public guided tour of "Schwere Schritte"

25 August 2026 | 4.00 pm: Short public guided tour of "Schwere Schritte", approx. 45 minutes

25 August 2026 | 5.00 pm: "Meet the Artist" with Anke Hochgartz and Sieglinde Potthoff

28 August 2026 | 6.00 pm: Public guided tour of the Bocholt Stadtwaldlager

29 August 2026 | 11.00 am: Short guided tour of the Bocholt Stadtwaldlager, specially designed for children and young people

30 August 2026 | All day, no booking required: In collaboration with the Bocholt City Archives: Children's hands-on activity stall on the market square during the Culture Days.

All events are free of charge. Please register in advance.

 Further information and registration details are available from the Bocholt City Museum at www.stadtmuseum-bocholt.de, by email at stadtmuseum(at)bocholt(dot)de or by telephone on 02871 / 953-2171.

The exhibition *Heavy Steps: Bocholt Stories of Flight and New Beginnings* is open free of charge on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 5 pm.

This special exhibition has been made possible with the support of the Ministry for Regional Identity, Local Government, Building and Digitalisation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the Heimat-Fonds, the LWL Museum Office for Westphalia, Stadtsparkasse Bocholt and the Rudolf and Margot Ostermann Foundation.