The Authority for Daily Life Testimonials is a hive of activity, with a steady flow of formalities and administrative duties and the gurgling sound of the coffee machine. The staff systematically manages, organises, and administers the personal testimonies of citizens in accordance with the categories of the Authority for Daily Life Testimonials. Personal everyday evidence such as chocolate bar wrappers, notes, receipts, newspaper clippings, or contact lens cases can be handed in by any citizen to the relevant office. The Authority for Daily Life Testimonials guarantees a systematic allocation of the items handed in.

For EMAF 2025, students from the art faculty of Osnabruck University worked together with students from the Music and Art School of Osnabruck under the direction of Monika Witte on the topic of testimonies. The focus is on the ambivalence of the term “truth”: While everyday objects convey individual, subjective truths, in the Authority for Daily Life Testimonials they are assigned to objective categories. In this context, collecting and assigning is examined as an artistic and bureaucratic process, both in installations and performances.

• Programm Programme: Music and Art School Osnabrück: Authority for Daily Life Testimonials