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Exhibition on flight and migration in the Nordstadtgalerie

Information

Who: Fachhochschule Dortmund (Hochschule vor Ort)
What: Exhibition, film and workshop
Vernissage & film screening: Friday, August 23, 2024, from 6 p.m.
Workshop: "Old times with a new perspective - anti-discrimination and decolonization" on Thursday, 12 September 2024, 3 to 4.30 pm
Finissage: Thursday, September 19, 2024, from 6 pm
Where: Nordstadtgalerie, Bornstraße 142, 44145 Dortmund

A woman stands at Dortmund Central Station and looks into the camera

For her film, Katharina Mikhrin portrayed women who fled Ukraine in spring 2022 and arrived in Dortmund.

Katharina Mikhrin (Ekaterina Vorobieva) focused on flight and migration for her bachelor's thesis in photography at Fachhochschule Dortmund. Her work goes beyond purely artistic documentation. With "Supernova", she empowers refugee women to position themselves creatively.

"In workshops, I accompany these women, most of whom have no formal artistic training, in expressing their experiences, hopes and challenges through art," explains Katharina Mikhrin. The focus is not on one-off participation, but on long-term support, self-empowerment and reappraisal.

Some of these works can be seen from August 23, 2024 in the exhibition "I want the old days back" in the Nordstadtgalerie at Fachhochschule Dortmund.

Short film "I want the old days back"

The short film "I want the old days back" - also part of the Bachelor's thesis - will also be shown at the vernissage. In it, Katharina Mikhrin portrays women who fled from Ukraine to Germany in spring 2022. "The film reflects the deep longing of the protagonists for their former lives without violence, flight and war," says the UAS student. It gives a deep insight into their first impressions of Germany, their experiences with the host society and their thoughts about the future. Some of the protagonists will then be available for discussion and conversation.

The programme will be accompanied by a workshop on the topic of "Old times with a new perspective - anti-discrimination and decolonization" on 12 September 2024 from 3 to 4.30 pm. Social worker Dorothée Boecker, lecturer at the Faculty of Applied Social Studies at Fachhochschule Dortmund, will raise participants' awareness of post-colonial structures and demonstrate practical approaches to decolonization. Participation in the workshop is free of charge, but registration by email to nordstadtgalerie(at)fh-dortmund.de is required.

Katharina Mikhrin had already completed a degree in economics in St. Petersburg before coming to Germany with her husband and studying photography at Fachhochschule Dortmund. In her Master's degree at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, the 47-year-old will focus on art management and art education in future. "I would like to push ahead with and expand projects like 'Supernova'," she says.

Other works by the women will also be on display at SUPERRAUM in Dortmund's city center, Brückstraße 62(Opens in a new tab) , from September 5 to 7, 2024, alongside the exhibition at Nordstadtgalerie. As in the Nordstadtgalerie, admission is free.