Catalogue For What It's Worth

In 1975 the Vossen family gave up their family business in Herne’s pedestrian zone and in its place the first McDonald's in the Ruhr Area moved in.

Methods of staging and documentary are intertwined when hopes and expectations raised by entering the franchise business during the 1970s are contrasted with the shop’s present-day reality. In the video installation Family Business personal recollections merge with collective remembrance.

Family Business portrays how the place has evolved from a household goods store to a fast food restaurant and its temporary function as a rehearsal room for a band.

The history of this site and its protagonists is interwoven with broader themes that continue to exert a marked influence on the region: from structural change and the changing concept of work to the future of our inner cities and what culture means for the Ruhr Area.

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