What is home? A place, a landscape, a smell, or familiar music? Since the recruitment agreement of the 1960s, migration and cultural interconnections have had a significant impact on the relationship between Germany and Turkey. In Ahlen, Westphalia, many people sought work and a new life at the Westfalen coal mine – what was intended to be a temporary departure often turned into an attempt to find a permanent home in a foreign culture.
In an extensive group exhibition, the Kunstmuseum Ahlen took an in-depth look at the artistic reflections of these migrant experiences. Sixteen renowned artists from the Turkish cultural sphere illuminated the multi-layered perspectives between Istanbul and Berlin in installations, sculptures, photographs, and videos. Their works told of memories of what had been left behind, of hopes for a new beginning, and of the difficult pendulum swings between cultures. The positions on display impressively illustrated the search for identity and the transformations within a globally networked society.
The exhibition was curated by Burcu Doğramacı and Marta Smolińska.
With works by Halil Altındere | İmran Ayata | Mehtap Baydu | Nezaket Ekici | Şakir Gökçebağ | Gülsün Karamustafa | Ekin Su Koç | Servet Koçyiğit | Bülent Kullukçu | Silvina Der Meguerditchian | Hakan Savaş Mican | Pınar Öğrenci | Cengiz Tekin | Güneş Terkol | Nil Yalter | Özlem Yenigül
