Sat 9 March – Sat 4 May 2024

Migration Memories 
Installation and Exhibition
Galerie Litar Zurich

“Migration Memories” is an exhibition about migration, displacement and arrival in Switzerland. Fifteen people have contributed an object and a story. In short videos, they tell of farewells, losses and new beginnings, of self-empowerment, special rituals and the richness of multilingualism. Fifteen stories about the meaning of memory and being here in the world, which are touching, powerful and thought-provoking.

A sound installation in German and English with literary texts by Etel Adnan, Yanara Friedland and Ivna Žic accompanies the exhibition. Reflections on migration and exile are combined with personal memories and dreams of feeling at home through language.

Curator: Christa Baumberger

With contributions by:
Husain Buyook, Martin Dreyfus, Wagdy El Komy, Andualem Bekele Eshetie, Nushaba Hasanova, Iryna Herasimovich, Safiyo Hussein Abdi, Ali S. Karadas, Ana Lupu, Reya Morgado, Dragica Rajčić Holzner, Farzad Tagharrobi, Farnaz Teymoorazof, Ayse Yavas, Salma Zander-Martínez

A varied supporting programme accompanies the exhibition:
A performance and short reading, panel discussions and guided tours with the participants. The events are organised in collaboration with Alit, Musée imaginaire des migrations, Tandem im Museum and Weiter Schreiben Schweiz.

The exhibition is accompanied by the publication Edition Litar 04, edited by Christa Baumberger. With texts by Husain Buyook, Wagdy El Komy and Ana Lupu. Picture series with objects and stories as well as portraits of all the people who have contributed to the exhibition. Order: info@litar.ch | CHF 8.– (plus shipping costs).

Opening hours Galerie Litar
Wed | Fri 2–6pm
Sat 1–4pm 
and by appointment

1 May: 2 to 6 pm

Admission fee including publication: CHF 8 / CHF 5 (reduced: AHV, IV, Legi, KulturLegi)
Free admission for people with ID cards N, F, S and B and membership card for Sans Papiers.

Download: PDF Flyer «Migration Memories»

Galerie Litar
Letzistrasse 23, 8006 Zurich
info@litar.ch | Tel. +41 44 291 99 00

Managing Director Litar | Curator: Christa Baumberger
Curatorial assistance: Nicole Schmid
Exhibition graphic design: Rahel Arnold
Voices: Thomas Douglas, Ivna Žic
Audio: Film Klang Kollektiv
Audio/video installation: Jörg Hüssy
Design “Zelle”: Klauser Lienhard Design Studio
Communication: Simone Ammann
Collaboration Galerie Litar: Dorothea Eppler

Tue 30 April 2024  | 7–9 pm

Reading Group Litar und Viceversa | Edition #11
Reading and Conversation with Wagdy El Komy und Joël László
Galerie Litar Zürich

Languages are fundamental to understanding. What could be more important than dialogue in times of crisis and social division? We believe in the silent power of literature and dialogue. The “Litar and Viceversa” reading group, which was launched in 2022, is dedicated to multilingualism and the understanding between languages and people.

Edition #11 – “Migration Memories” Special Edition
Wagdy El Komy “A Wall for Family Photos ... Instead of a Home” (2024)

The Egyptian author Wagdy El Komy and his translator Joël László will be guests on this special evening. For the “Migration Memories” exhibition, Wagdy El Komy (b. 1980) has written an essay and designed a wall collage. He vividly describes what it means to leave your family and to live in exile: “I long for a home, not for a homeland”. Wagdy El Komy has published seven novels and two collections of stories in Arabic. They reflect Egyptian reality in its many contradictory facets. In an interview with translator and author Joël László, he talks about living and writing between languages. The two have been working together on texts and translations as part of the “Weiter Schreiben Schweiz” project since 2021.

Reading Group Litar and Viceversa

The reading group is aimed at everyone who enjoys reading, thinking and discussing together. It is moderated by Christa Baumberger (Litar), Ruth Gantert (Viceversa Yearbook of Swiss Literatures) and the Romanian-French literary mediator Monica Salvan (Romanian Literature Museum Iaşi). Five to six gatherings take place per year, but is also possible to attend a single session. Each meeting focuses on a book that is read in advance by the participants. Authors, publishers and translators are also guests on selected evenings. Participation is free of charge and each event session ends with snacks and drinks. Multilingual discussions are welcome.

Wagdy El Komy’s essay was published in the “Migration Memories” Edition Litar 04. It will be sent to you as pdf document after registration.

The exhibition will be open from  6–7pm.
Admission fee including publication and reading group: CHF 8 / CHF 5 

Registration: 044 291 99 00 | info@litar.ch

Litar
Letzistrasse 23
CH-8006 Zurich

Sa, 4. Mai 2024 | 13.00–17.00 Uhr

Migration Memories
Finissage
Galerie Litar Zürich

13 Uhr Open House
14 Uhr Gespräch mit der Autorin Dragica Rajčić und der Übersetzerin Iryna Herasimovich. Moderation: Christa Baumberger. 
Im Anschluss Ausstellungsbesichtigung und Apéro. Eintritt frei.

Zum Schluss der Ausstellung «Migration Memories» öffnen wir den Horizont noch einmal weit: Mit unseren zwei Gästen blicken wir über die Grenzen nach Belarus und Kroatien. Die Autorin Dragica Rajčić und die Übersetzerin Iryna Herasimovich diskutieren mit der Kuratorin Christa Baumberger über das Leben in der Fremde und das Heimischwerden in und zwischen den Sprachen. Und über die Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen einer Holzbank und einem alten Spazierstock. Bei einem Frühlingsapéro lassen wir die Ausstellung ausklingen.

Die Autorin und Kulturvermittlerin Dragica Rajčic Holzner wurde 1959 in Kroatien geboren, sie lebt seit 1978 in der Schweiz. In ihren Büchern bricht sie Sprachnormen und Erzählkonventionen auf. Ihr Buch «Glück» wurde 2021 mit einem Schweizer Literaturpreis ausgezeichnet.

Die Literaturübersetzerin Iryna Herasimovich lebte bis 2021 in Minsk und Varapaeva in Belarus und seit 2021 in der Schweiz. Sie hat Bücher von Lukas Bärfuss, Nora Gomringer, Franz Hohler und Jan Lüscher ins Belarussische übersetzt und ist Co-Initiatorin von «33 Bücher für ein anderes Belarus».

In Kooperation mit Alit.

Download: PDF Flyer «Migration Memories»

Galerie Litar
Letzistrasse 23, CH-8006 Zürich
info@litar.ch | Tel. +41 44 291 99 00