Rolf Killius

Rolf Killius is a consultant (museums, exhibitions and media), exhibition curator, oral historian, ethnomusicologist (MMus SOAS, London University), sound and film producer/editor and radio journalist, whose work appears in a variety of contexts. He works in exhibition curating, academic research, music and sound production, film production and editing and oral history. Rolf, a German-born British resident, has lived in Germany, Qatar, Switzerland and India and presently divides his time between London, UK and India.

Presently he is a guest curator for non-European musical instruments at the Musical Instrument Museum Markneukirchen, Germany, oral historian and media producer for the Bubenreutheum in Franconia, Germany and contributor for the Qatar Digital Library Portal of the Qatar National Library.

Until recently he was the "Specialist Consultant in Oral History Management" for the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) in Doha and the Curator of Oral and Musical Cultures at the British Library - Qatar Foundation Partnership in London.

He worked as a consultant for the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM), 'the first truly global musical instrument museum' in Phoenix, Arizona (USA) where he was responsible for collection, research and documentation in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Rolf also facilitated the documentation and construction of a Bhunga desert farm, from the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, Western India on the premises of the anthropological Grassi Museum in Leipzig, Germany.

Interview with Rolf Killius for the SWR Radio Channel (in German)

Rolf has been Exhibition Curator/Researcher/Media Producer for exhibitions:

1. • China, Japan and Korea in Markneukirchen, Musikinstrumente-Museum Markneukirchen; Saxony, Germany
2. • Ealing Road Sounds - Brent Council, West London
3. • Winds of Change Exhibition, part of Grassi's Reinventing Project, Leipzig, Germany
4. • Roots and Changes – Gujarati Influences, Brent Museum and Archives, West London
5. • Gujarati Yatra – A Journey of a People, Museum of Croydon, South London
6. • Gauhar Jaan – The Courtesan and the Recording Industry, Omnibus Theatre, Clapham, London
7. • Hindustani musical instruments (Radhika Mohan Maitra Collection of Somjit DasGupta)
8. • Indian Strings & Dances at the Museum of Croydon, London
9. • British Library Sound Archive, Music from India Online Sound Exhibition
10. • Utsavam - Music from India at the Horniman Museum, London

Professional Memberships:

 
1. • Museums Association UK
2. • ICTM – International Council for Traditional Music
3. • BFE – British Forum for Ethnomusicology
4. • Oral History Society UK
5. • Deutsch-Kurdisches Kulturinstitut (advisory council)

Please note that the intellectual property rights in all content comprising or contained within this website address (URL) is owned by Rolf Killius, and other copyright owners as specified © 2020

Work Ethics

Rolf has chosen to adopt a participatory approach in all areas of his work. He tries to conduct his work in a way, which is fair, inclusive and sensitive to the aims and objectives of his partners. All projects he works on should be beneficial in one or several ways to communities he works with. Sustainable elements should be included and if possible a legacy project set up. He subscribes to the Code of Ethics as developed by the Museums Association of the UK.