Experiences of Refugeedom in Past and Present

The evening event will present the results of four years of building up the We Refugees Archive on flight and exile in the past and present. Stories of refugees from different cities of refuge are told – in the form of short video clips, poems, photos and biographical texts. Questions about continuities and ruptures of personal experiences of flight and arrival in the time of National Socialism and today are raised and connections from six cities of refuge Berlin, Vilnius, Palermo, Paris, Istanbul and New York are shown. The focus is on perspectives on urban coexistence and the role of artistic and literary treatments of flight, arrival and exile. A panel discussion will address questions such as how to tell the story of flight and exile and who tells it. The event will conclude with a reading of poems and texts by refugees from the past and present.