Homes | Heimat
Pilot Exhibition, 4 Nov. - 8 Nov. 2024
ES 203, English Department, Uni Münster
Homes is rooted in principles of knowledge co-production and community organization, aiming to connect people, histories, and processes through shared experiences. This pilot phase offers a glimpse into the project’s exhibits, stories, and concepts, inviting participants to actively shape the initiative by providing feedback and engaging in meaningful dialogues. We view this stage as a collaborative effort, encouraging community members to share their unique perspectives on migration, identity, and belonging. Though limited in scope, this pilot phase focuses on gathering feedback that will be instrumental in shaping Homes as it moves forward. The exhibition is set to take place at the University of Münster's English Seminar—a department well-regarded for its research in migration, multiculturalism, kinship, community, and postcolonial studies. Hosting one of the largest international student communities on campus, this location is ideal for integrating a diverse range of perspectives.
This pilot is open to all members of the University of Münster.
Tentative Schedule (as of Oct. 28)
Nov 4 - 18:00-20:00 - Opening of the pilot installation, followed by a light reception
Nov 5 - 10:00-18:00 - Open for general visitations and feedback
Nov 6 - 10:00-18:00 - Reserved for pedagogic use
Nov 7 - 10:00-16:00 - Reserved for pedagogic use
Nov 7 - 18:00-20:00 - Closing lecture
Nov 8 - 10:00-14:00 - Open for general visitations and feedback
Concept
John Agard's 1998 poem, Remember the Ship concludes with, “[A]nd citizenship shall be/a call/to kinship/that knows/no boundary/of skin (…)” Written with deep aspiration, the poem encourages us to rethink citizenships that go beyond the usual ties of nationality and borders. Instead, it proposes a bond grounded in shared emotions, relations, and movements. Traditionally, citizenship has been understood through a state-centred framework that defines individuals as members of a national polity based on rights and duties. However, this approach often neglects more complex post/colonial forms of belonging that emphasize emotional ties, interpersonal relationships, and movement.
The limitations of legal frameworks are evident when addressing the diasporic experiences of migrants from post/colonial states, who frequently navigate inclusions/exclusions. Physically present, but politically excluded from full civic participation, they construct belonging in ways that challenge traditional definitions. Immigrants engage with what we may read as 'acts of citizenship,' through every day, personal acts that enable new expressions of civic identity. Instead of seeing citizenship as a contract solely between the individual and the state, Homes emphasizes the importance of recognizing how personal, relational, and seemingly mundane actions shape collective life.
Project Overview
Homes | Heimat: Postcolonialism, Narratives, Photography builds on these critical discussions, focusing on how students from migratory backgrounds at the University of Münster express stories of homes and belonging. Initiated in May 2024, the project applies Citizen Science, Decolonial Arts Practice, Embodied Storytelling, and Community Research to contribute to archives reflecting diverse, relational experiences. Significantly, Homes highlights how concepts of belonging are evolving, shaped by the influence of transnational migration on both local and global scales. Homes foregrounds these dynamics, emphasizing how migrant students and established communities navigate affective geographies to create alternative forms of belonging. Building on Askins’ (2016) concept of emotional citizenry, Homes broadens the idea of citizenship by highlighting the interconnectedness of emotions and individual bodies in forming a collective political identity that moves beyond formal politics.
Most importantly, Homes compels us to confront differing proximities to colonisation. While imperial histories are often seen as remote or relegated to the past, for students from postcolonial contexts, these histories are recent, extending through the experiences of their grandparents and parents. A genuine shift toward postcolonial perspectives, therefore, requires integrating these genealogical memories into academic and social discourse, recognizing their continued relevance in shaping identities and belonging today.
Guiding Questions
- How do family histories, migration, and visual storytelling shape fluid ideas of "home" and "belonging" for post/colonial-background students, and how do these personal narratives connect with Münster’s broader historical and cultural context?
- How can personal and collective memories shared by migrant students redefine emotional citizenship, and in what ways do these stories prompt discussions on post/colonial histories, racialization, and local connections? How does interaction between migrant and local communities shape integration in Germany?
- How can Citizen Science approaches be adapted to address the realities of 21st-century migration, forced displacement, and super-diversity? How might these methods inform practices within the University of Münster?
Goals
Through this initiative, we aim to align with the University of Münster’s Field of Action C (Cultivating a Respective, Inclusive Community) and Field of Action D (Assuming Social Responsibility). In line with the University’s mission statement, we view “diversity and equal opportunity as assets,” seeing diversity as a pathway to excellence in education and innovation.
This research addresses vital issues related to integration, providing a platform for society to better understand how postcolonial histories affect feelings of belonging. Such insights are crucial for cultivating inclusive communities where diversity is perceived as a resource rather than a challenge. By facilitating discussions around these themes, the initiative contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of belonging and the importance of recognizing the active roles migrants play in shaping societal landscapes.
Process
Given the complex topics it examines, Homes employs a diverse research design combining citizen science, community-based participatory research (CBPR), and decolonial arts methods. The project functions as a citizen science and media initiative that highlights the migration stories of students from post/colonial contexts. This is accomplished through varied outputs, including publications, community lectures, and a bilingual citizen media installation. The installation, which features transcribed storytelling sessions, family photographs, and creative works, is designed to provide Münster residents insight into the personal narratives of migrant students. In crafting this installation, Homes utilizes CBPR and interview-based embodied storytelling (IBES) methods to build collaborative, reflective spaces where participants’ lived experiences are expressed and contextualized.
Homes commenced in May 2024 with an open call for participation extended to students, staff, and community members at the University of Münster. Participants were invited to share stories centered around the oldest image from their family archives, which served as primary data sources for the project. The response surpassed expectations, involving eight students from diverse geographical backgrounds, including India, Bangladesh, Egypt, Germany, the United States, Canada, Jordan, Trinidad & Tobago, Peru, Gambia, and Senegal.
The storytelling sessions comprised extended one-on-one conversations with eight co-curators, facilitated by Yash Gupta, an international student at the English Seminar. These semi-structured interviews lasted between two to three hours, allowing for both guided inquiry and the flexibility to explore participants' stories more organically. To deepen the exploration of emerging themes, several smaller follow-up sessions were conducted. All data collection rounds were held in English to ensure accessibility, and participants had open channels to communicate with the lead curator and citizen scientist at any point during the project. After the initial interviews, recordings were transcribed and translated into German. A critical aspect of this process was returning the transcripts to the interviewees, giving them the chance to retract any information they considered too personal or sensitive. The finalized transcripts then served as catalysts for discussions regarding the development of a citizens’ media installation.
The initiative is currently in its creative phase, which is characterized by ongoing narration and consultation. It follows a fully participatory approach, where interviewees also take on the role of co-curators throughout the process. A key aspect of the project is co-curation, where interviewees are regularly invited to engage collectively in consultations regarding the installation. This collaboration aims to strengthen relationships among the interviewees, using their connections and disconnections to inspire ideas for the installation.These consultations are essential for ensuring that the voices and visions of participants are central to the project's development. As the project progresses, the insights gathered will contribute to reframing concepts of kinship, challenge traditional understandings of Heimat (home), and address the city’s colonial past along with its contemporary implications.
Ethical Overview
The ethical framework of Homes builds on the principle of respect for persons as outlined in the Belmont report of 1979. Hence, before the initiation of the data collection phase, all the interviewees were informed of the scope of the project, their rights as participants, their capacity to withdraw at any given moment, along with the data management strategies employed. The interview and storytelling sessions were preceded by the acquisition of recorded informed consent, ensuring complete transparency regarding the use of collected information. Participants continue to retain ownership over their narratives and photographs throughout the process.
Team
Homes maintains a fully participatory approach, with interviewees also assuming the role of co-curators throughout the process. Homes operates within a framework of flat hierarchies, where ‘citizen scientists’ and ‘participants’ collaboratively generate and interpret data, oversee project management, and make decisions regarding core project components. The lead curator’s responsibility is to synthesize future directions and facilitate dialogue among co-curators.
Homes | Heimat functions through the contributions of several co-curators, with equitable distribution of roles. The members and their roles are listed herein (certain names have been omitted from this list in accordance with the wishes of the members):
- Yash Gupta, Lead Curator and Chief Investigator
- Yahia AlSallaq, Co-curator, and Assistant
- Thais Diaz Barrantes Moli, Co-curator
- Maliha Akram Samin, Co-curator
- Alia El-Wakil, Co-curator
- Fahima Farkhari, Co-curator
- Evra J.A., Co-curator
- Ramatoulaye Jamilah Sow, Co-curator
- Sundus Ihsan Khan, Co-curator
Along with the co-curators, the initiative is shaped by the scientific expertise of:
- Prof. Dr. Mark U. Stein, Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies, Universität Münster
- Dr. Eckhard Kluth, Head, Zentrale Kustodie und Kulturbüro der Universität Münster
- Dr. Felipe Espinoza Garrido, Lecturer, Englishces Seminar, Universität Münster
Lead Curator and Chief Investigator
Yash Gupta
Yash Gupta (He/Him) is a Master’s student specializing in National and Transnational Studies at the University of Münster. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Literary and Cultural Studies, complemented by a minor in Graphic Design and a diploma in Fine Arts. Yash has garnered experience in curation, archiving, and museology through his work in institutions such as the Indian Memory Project and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya.
As a second-generation survivor of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and an individual with multiple dis/abilities, his research centres rhizomatic kinships and frameworks of recollection, particularly in relation to power dynamics and marginalization. Committed to a social and activist praxis focused on knowledge co-production, Yash’s research, publications, and community initiatives span the disciplines of Critical Disability Studies, Death Studies, Memory Studies, Critical Race Theory, Gender & (A)sexuality Studies, and practice-based Animal & Environmental Welfare. Recently, Yash was awarded the DAAD Prize for International Students for the academic year 2024-2025, recognising his contributions to these vital areas of study and organisation.
Scientific Advisors
Prof Dr. Mark U. Stein
Professor Mark Stein is the Chair of English, Postcolonial and Media Studies at the University of Münster, a position he took up in 2006. He also runs the National and Transnational Studies programme (MA NTS). As a German critic, writer, and academic, he has specialised in Black British and British Asian Writing, Caribbean Literature, Zimbabwean Literature, Critical Theory, Diaspora Studies, and Postcolonial Studies.
Since publishing Black British Literature: Novels of Transformation in 2004, he has focussed primarily on postcolonial and diaspora studies, with a particular interest in porosity, translocation, and processes of cultural transformation in anglophone cultural production. Aiming to historicise and contextualise this first field of inquiry, while also stretching its boundaries, he returns to this area with his latest publication, The Cambridge History of Black and Asian British Writing (CUP 2020, co-ed. with Susheila Nasta: https://tinyurl.com/CaHiBABW).
For more info go to: uni.ms/stein
Dr. Eckhard Kluth
Dr. Eckhard Kluth is an accomplished art historian with a strong background in museum work, having been associated with institutions in Münster and Dresden. He originally focused on early modern art but has since transitioned to a broader role. Currently, he heads the Central Custody of the University of Münster, where he oversees the university's cultural activities and art collection. His responsibilities also include coordinating overarching matters related to the university's scientific collections.
Dr. Felipe Espinoza Garrido
Felipe Espinoza Garrido is Assistant Professor for English, Postcolonial and Media Studies at the University of Münster, where he received a PhD in literary and film studies. He holds an M.A. in political science and has previously taught media and cultural studies at the University of Dortmund. Specializing in popular culture and postcolonial studies, he publishes on Black British writing and museum culture, Afrofuturism, Victorian and neo-Victorian literatures, as well as transnational film and television. Felipe is currently working on a monograph on post-Thatcherism in British cinema, and one on empire imaginations in popular Victorian women’s writing. He is co-director of the MA National and Transnational Studies.
For a list of publications go to uni.ms/espinoza
Accompanying Events
On Thursday, November 7th, there will be two events accompanying the exhibition. You can find the details below.
Riddling as Encryption: Countering Repression on the Journey to the Pluriverse
Guest Lecture by Dr. Deborah Nyangulu
We’re excited to invite you all to a guest lecture by Dr. Deborah Nyangulu from the University of Bremen! Dr. Nyangulu will present her research and insights on “Riddling as Encryption: Countering Repression on the Journey to the Pluriverse.”
Dr. Nyangulu is part of the Research Training Group Contradiction Studies: Constellations, Heuristics, and Concepts of the Contradictory at the University of Bremen. Her research spans Literary and Cultural Studies, Contemporary African Literature & African Studies, Masculinities and Power, Social Media and Social Movements, Black freedom struggles, Critical Theory, and theories and histories of nation, nationalism, & transnationalism.
Location: ES 202, Englisches Seminar, Johannisstraße 12-20, 48143 Münster
Time: 18:15-20:00, Thursday, 7th of November, 2024.
Rooting & Belonging: An Expressive Arts Therapy Session with Fanska Szelok
We are excited to announce that Expressive Arts Therapist Fanska will be joining us for an interactive session inspired by the Homes | Heimat pilot this Thursday! This session offers a unique and personal opportunity to explore themes of belonging through various art modalities. Expressive arts therapy helps individuals process experiences, understand emotions, and enhance well-being through artistic expression. It empowers people to communicate their concerns, feelings, and thoughts in creative and nonverbal ways.
Date: 7 November 2024
Time: 12:00 - 14:00
Venue: ES203, Johannisstraße 12-20
To register for the session, please use this link: https://shorturl.at/rYuNT. Note that participation is capped at 12, so sign up soon!
This experience is open to everyone, and no prior art experience is necessary!
