Some messages are never sent. The annoyed email to a coworker, the late-night message to a neighbor, the secret love letter to a crush who’s already taken. There’s a place for these messages.
BOTIN – The Archive for Unsent Messages will reopen its collection starting in the summer of 2026, exclusively at three locations in Cologne.
Last year, BOTIN already collected unsent messages via an analog and a digital mailbox. A moving collection of nearly 100 messages has emerged, including numerous letters to ex-partners, mothers and fathers, teachers, prosecutors, and aliens. The shortest message is two words long and was addressed to an asshole; the longest is three typewritten pages long and was intended for a coworker. The oldest message dates back to 1993.
“Dear ex-wife, I’m sorry for what I did to you. I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry for sleeping with you again.”
Starting this summer, the Archive will be touring Cologne: In a performative reading featuring three actors and a musician, the Archive offers insights into the trials and tribulations of human life. It gives voice to what has not been heard before. Visitors become proxy recipients and also sponsors of numerous messages—perhaps even one that is closer to them than they realized…
Dates
- July 11, 2026, as an interactive, open performance, 5:00–8:00 p.m., as part of the “Miteinander” program at Neumarkt, Cologne
- October 13, 2026, 7:30 p.m., duration approx. 1 hour, Interim of the Zentralbibliothek, Hohe Str. 68–82, 50667 Cologne
- December 15, 2026, 7:30 p.m., duration approx. 1 hour, Literaturhaus, Großer Griechenmarkt 39, 50676 Cologne
Letterbox
What message have you never sent—or perhaps never even written? Because it was too angry, too late, too embarrassing, or simply too vulnerable?
Take your unsent message out of the drawer, out of the past, or even out of your head, and drop it in our mailbox to let it go once and for all.
You can find BOTIN’s digital mailbox on the official website:
Team
Philine Velhagen Concept & Direction
Karen Bentfeld Performance
Justine Hauer Performance
Jonas Relitzki Performance
Benedikt Fuchs Music & Sound Design
Cordula Körber Costumes
Laura Vennes PR & Marketing (Un-Label)
Nils Rottgardt Production Manager (Un-Label)
Kai Kullen Graphic Design
Béla Bisom Production/Administration (Drama Köln)
A production by Drama Köln and Un-Label, in cooperation with the Cologne City Library, the Literaturhaus Köln, and the “Neumarkt Miteinander” project.
