Gurbette Kalmak / Bleiben in der Fremde 2023

Cana Bilir-Meier, Semra Ertan, Sohrab Shahid Saless, Nil Yalter, Hanefi Yeter
The exhibition "Bleiben in der Fremde" shows artistic forms of articulation in reaction to the social and political situation of migrant workers in the "guest worker" system of Western Europe. The works focus on the 1970s and were largely created during this time of the recruitment stop and the emerging integration paradigm: A time when migrant workers from Turkey fought for labour rights as well as citizenship rights and were justifiably sceptical of the integration paradigm with its demand for assimilation and fitting in.
Like Semra Ertan in her poetry, Cana Bilir-Meier, Sohrab Shahid Saless, Nil Yalter and Hanefi Yeter create their own language in video, film, photography and painting in order to be able to tell the pain of denied belonging in a foreign land.
"Staying in a Foreign Land" is the first chapter of an exhibition trilogy at TAXISPALAIS that deals with questions of social togetherness. What can artistic languages contribute to a more appropriate discussion and living of the discourses around multiple affiliations and multiplicity in Western Europe? The chapters are curated in different constellations.