Projects, initiatives,
arts and culture events
of ERIAC

RESIST! The Art of Resistance

Coming Soon!

Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum – Cultures of the World, Cologne

RESIST! Illuminates 500 years of anti-colonial resistance in the Global South and tells about
colonial oppression and its effects to this day. The exhibition pays homage to the women,
men and children who resisted in the most diverse ways and whose stories have hardly ever
been told or heard to this day.

In a labyrinthine, futuristic architecture of pipes, beams and steel elements, designed by
raumlaborberlin, the works of over 40 contemporary artists from the Global South and the
diaspora tell stories of rebellion and war, violence and trauma as well as survival and
resilience. Their stories are complemented by historical documents and numerous objects
from the RJM collection, silent witnesses to moments of resistance. Within the labyrinth, four
autonomously curated rooms open up further perspectives: The Nigerian artist Peju Layiwola
reflects on the debates about looted art from the Kingdom of Benin (Nigeria), of which there
are also many in the RJM collection, and makes reference to the current #BlackLivesMatter
movement. The Namibian activists Esther Utjiua Muinjangue and Ida Hoffmann deal with the
genocide of the Herero and Nama in Namibia. The Hungarian curator Tímea Junghaus, executive director of ERIAC, has invited Sinti and Roma artists who focus on their struggle for self-determination. Finally, the Cologne postmigrant association In-Haus e.V. laments colonial continuities.

Dance and music also have a place in the exhibition: Rokia Bamba, sound artist and DJ
develops a sound and voice archive of resistance, and the urban dance artists Bahar Gökten
and Daniela Rodriguez Romero give insights into embodied resistance.

Numerous participatory formats such as repair and writing workshops, storytelling cafés, a
growing “Library of Resistance” and live speakers with whom visitors can engage in dialogue
offer a platform for critical examination of colonialism and its continuities and also create
spaces for discussions, listening, networking, being together and solidarity.

Curators of the Autonomous Spaces “It’s Yours!”

Esther Utjiua Muinjangue & Ida Hoffmann, Peju Layiwola, Tímea Junghaus, Integrationshaus
(In-Haus e.V.) Cologne-Kalk with Elizaveta Khan, Mona Leitmeier, Sae Yun Jung, Salman
Abdo and Rita Bomkamp

Artists in Residency

Rokia Bamba (Music), Bahar Gökten & Daniela Rodriguez Romero (Urban Dance), Kiri
Dalena (Photography), Francis Oghuma (Real Time Documentary)

Participating Artists

Florisse Adjanohoun, Christie Akumabor, Osaze Amadasun, Kader Attia, Roger Atikpo,
Belkis Ayón, Marcel Djondo, Omar Victor Diop, Nwakuso Edozien, Robert Gabris, Jimoh
Ganiyu, Anani Gbeteglo, Ayrson Heráclito, indieguerillas, Negro Illustrator, Patricia
Kaersenhout, Eustache Kamouna, Grada Kilomba, Mohammed Laouli, Alao Lukman, Peter
Magubane, Dhuwarrwarr Marika, Tshibumba Kanda Matulu, Medu Art Ensemble, Luiza
Prado de O. Martins, Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Keviselie/Hans Ragnar Mathisen, Monday
Midnite, Franky Mindja, Gaëtan Noussouglo, Lapiztola, Nura Qureshi, Emília Rigová,
Mamadou Sall, Juan Manuel Sandoval, Diego Sandoval Ávila, Selma Selman, The Singh
Twins, Alfred Ullrich, Huỳnh Văn Thuận, Edward Venero, Kara Walker, Wantok Musik
Foundation, Tania Willard, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Ernesto Yerena

Exhibition Design
raumlaborberlin

Exhibition Graphics
Elsa Westreicher and Thomas Quack

The Project is supported by
The German Federal Cultural Foundation, Peter and Irene Ludwig Foundation, F. Victor Rolff
Foundation, Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung, the Museum Society and the 360° Fund
for New City Cultures programme of the German Federal Cultural Foundation. The “360°
Fund for New City Cultures” programme of the German Federal Cultural Foundation supports
cultural institutions in dealing more intensively with migration and cultural diversity and in
creating new access and visibility for groups in society which have not been adequately reached so far. To this end, the model programme promotes a variety of approaches aimed
at opening up the programme, audience and staff to diversity.

Deutschlandfunk is the media partner of the exhibition.

More information on the exhibition: www.rjm-resist.de

And also on Facebook and Instagram