A World Not Ours

Azra Akšamija (1976, Bosnia/Herzegovina) / Taysir Batniji (1966, Palestine) / Tanja Boukal (1976, Austria) / Ninar Esber (1971, Lebanon) / Aslan Gaisumov (1991, Chechnya) / Mahdi Fleifel (1979, UAE) / Stine Marie Jacobsen (1977, Denmark) / Sven ’t Jolle (1966, Belgium) / Sallie Latch (1933, USA) / Eleonore de Montesquiou (1970, France) / Giorgos Moutafis (1977, Greece) / Marina Naprushkina (1981, Belarus) / Juice Rap News (established in 2009, Australia) / Somar Sallam (1988, Syria/Algeria) / Mounira Al Solh (1978, Lebanon) and Diller Scofidio & Renfro, Mark Hansen, Laura Kurgan, and Ben Rubin in collaboration with Robert Gerard Pietrusko and Stewart Smith, based on an idea by Paul Virilio (international)

Curated by Katerina Gregos

Co-produced by La Kunsthalle Mulhouse and the Schwarz Foundation.

Press conference: Wednesday, May 31 at 5pm at La Kunsthalle

During Art Basel: Reception at La Kunsthalle, Friday, June 16 at 7pm
(Shuttle from Basel to Mulhouse: departure at 6:15pm at Corner Iseinerstrasse–Bleichestrasse; return to Basel at 9pm)

La Kunsthalle Mulhouse is pleased to present A World Not Ours, a group exhibition focusing on the current refugee crisis and issues of forced displacement related to the war in Syria as well as other conflict zones. The exhibition, which began last summer at the Schwarz Foundation’s Art Space Pythagorion, on the island of Samos, Greece, aims to counteract the standardised, simplified and one-dimensional portrayal of the refugee crisis, often reduced to images of rickety boats and the perilous sea crossings from Turkey and Libya. Instead, it looks into the before and after of these dramatic moments. While the first chapter of the exhibition focused on the experience of flight, the precariousness of the journey and the clandestine economy that fuels the plight of the refugees, this iteration at La Kunsthalle Mulhouse will extend its focus to what happens once refugees have reached the “promised land.” The exhibition also looks into how European citizens experience the migration crisis, and explores problems of the representation of suffering, the “ownership” of refugee images and who has the right to represent them. The exhibition includes a group of artists, photographers, filmmakers and activists who mostly come from the Middle East or South-Eastern Europe, from countries that have experienced war, exodus and perilousness first hand. They have a proximal and intimate relation to trauma and communal experiences of suffering. Deploying diverse practices such as installation, photography, film, video and direct action, the work of the participating artists provides deeper insight into the plight of the refugees and points to the complex roots of the situation, while contextualising it within the larger global picture.

Late-night opening Thursdays until 8pm, in June
Open on July 14, 2 to 6pm
During Art Basel week (June 13 to June 16): Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 6pm

Free admission

Contact
La Kunsthalle Mulhouse - Centre d’art contemporain
La Fonderie, 16 rue de la Fonderie - 68093 Mulhouse Cedex
T + 33 (0)3 69 77 66 47 / kunsthalle [​at​] mulhouse.fr / www.kunsthallemulhouse.com
Enquiries/Press office: Clarisse Schwarb, Clarisse.schwarb@mulhouse.fr

La Kunsthalle Mulhouse is a member of d.c.a.
La Kunsthalle is a cultural establishment of the City of Mulhouse.
With the support from - the Regional Cultural Affairs Office of Alsace / the Ministry of Culture and Communication – Department of Haut-Rhin. – Region Grand Est.