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03/20/2024 | Pressemitteilung

Continuities of right-wing violence: "Open trial" exhibition in KHK

Right-wing violence takes lives - then and now. The "Open Trial" exhibition on the NSU complex shows the effects of racist violence. It makes them visible using the example of the NSU complex, whose social reappraisal has not yet been completed. At the same time, the exhibition locates living remembrance as a political act. The exhibition can be seen in the exhibition hall of the School of Art and Design Kassel from March 21 to May 12, 2024. Admission is free.

Image: University of Kassel.
View of the exhibition. Many of the works are videos.

With the exhibition, Kassel also remembers two people who were murdered by right-wing terrorist violence in the city: Halit Yozgat (2006) and Walter Lübcke (2019).

Too often, it is the stories of the perpetrators that are at the center of the narratives. The ASA-FF association's "Open Trial" project breaks with this tradition. Instead, it attempts to give those affected a voice. In doing so, "Offener Prozess" focuses on migration histories and migrant struggles as well as continuities of right-wing and racist violence, thus creating the necessary awareness of structural and institutional racism.

As part of the exhibition, the history of the NSU complex is portrayed using individual stories. With the approach of "living memory", marginalized perspectives are brought into focus.

Artistic contributions to the exhibition include works by Harun Farocki, Hito Steyerl, belit sağ, Želimir Žilnik, Ulf Aminde and Forensic Architecture. They deal with the realities of life of so-called contract and guest workers, migration histories, acts of right-wing terrorism and their effects, as well as everyday racism.

The exhibition was created as part of the ASA-FF e.V. project Offener Prozess - NSU- Aufarbeitung in Sachsen under the direction of Hannah Zimmermann and Jörg Buschmann. The exhibition productionwas created by Irène Mélix. Ayşe Güleç and Fritz Laszlo Weber developed the curatorial concept for the exhibition.

The exhibition is open Wednesdays 3-8pm and Thursdays to Sundays, 1-6pm. In the evenings, from around 5:30 p.m., panel discussions and round-table discussions invite people to exchange ideas. All information about the program can be found at:
https://kunsthochschulekassel.de/willkommen/veranstaltungen/events/ausstellung-offener-prozess.html

Free group tours and workshops are offered for groups of five or more, also in Spanish, Turkish, English and Mandarin. The offer is also aimed at school classes from the 8th grade and all interested parties. Registrations can be made at: offener-prozess[at]uni-kassel[dot]de.

Every Wednesday there are open guided tours of the exhibition in various languages (no registration required, free of charge).

The exhibition content is available in Turkish, Arabic, English, German and plain language. The films are available for blind and visually impaired people in a version with audio description.

Wednesday, April 03, 2024, 6 p.m.
Exhibition hall, School of Art and Design Kassel
"Why not draw a line?" A conversation with Gamze Kubaşık and Semiya Şimşek about the NSU complex, their fight for clarification and remembrance(moderator: Ali Şirin)

Tuesday, April 16, 2024, 5:30 pm
Ausstellungshalle, School of Art and Design
Panel discussion: listen. document. exhibit. remember. A contextualization of the exhibition series "Open Process"
(With Prof. Ömer Alkın, Prof. Daniel Hornuff, Miriam Schickler, Moderation: Prof. Liliana Gómez)

Friday, April 19, 2024, 3 pm
Meeting point: Halitplatz, Kassel
Critical walk and curator tour with Ayşe Güleç

Thursday, May 2, 2024, 6 p.m.
Exhibition Hall, School of Art and Design, Kassel
Panel discussion: Places of Remembrance. Commemoration as a political practice of mourning.
(With Team 86°, WALTER HALIT Project), Soligruppe B.Efe 09, re:member the future, moderated by Defne Kizilöz)