The interdisciplinary exhibition Joseph Beuys and the Shamans shows for the first time works by Joseph Beuys together with ethnological objects of shamanic life worlds from the circumpolar, Eurasian region.

In his early works, Joseph Beuys repeatedly addressed shamans and the contexts in which they operate. He also assumed the role of the shaman, for example in actions, or made use of shamanic practices. For Beuys, the figure of the shaman embodies fundamental manifestations of spiritual contexts, the idea of transformation and wholeness oriented towards the future. Eurasia as a spiritual space plays an important role in this.

The ethnological presentation conveys a basic understanding of historical and contemporary indigenous shamanism and brings visitors closer to the historical and mythical shamanic worlds to which Beuys referred in many different ways.

In addition to the exhibition theme, several contemporary artistic positions deal with the relevance of shamanism in art and society in the Western world as well as in the Eurasian region, not least against the background of existential, global questions.

Museum Schloss Moyland houses the world’s largest collection of works by Joseph Beuys and the extensive Joseph Beuys Archive. The moated castle and park enable an intensive and meaningful experience of the exhibition and accompanying events through the immediate proximity of art and nature.