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Solingen '93

Unutturmayacağız! Never forget!

Wechselausstellung
Solingen'93 Unutturmayacağız! Never forget! — Exhibition at the Museum Center for Persecuted Arts in Solingen
Solingen'93 Unutturmayacağız! Never forget! — Exhibition at the Museum Center for Persecuted Arts in Solingen
30.5.23
10.9.23

On May 29, 1993, four young men from Solingen carried out a far-right attack on the Genç family on Untere Wernerstraße. In the fire of their house, Gürsün İnce, Hatice Genç, Gülistan Öztürk, Hülya Genç and Saime Genç were murdered and other family members were seriously injured.

The racist attack put Solingen in line with Rostock-Lichtenhagen, Hoyerswerda and Mölln. The “pogrom mood” of the early nineties revealed the racism entrenched in society and the continuing threat of right-wing violence, which persists to this day. The murders meant irretrievable loss and lasting traumatization for the relatives.

Munich, Hanau, Halle, the NSU murders and bombings, the death of Oury Jalloh in a police station in Dessau and others came to Solingen. The commemoration of acts of racist violence, the visualization of victims and a broad discourse about what happened are still overshadowed by perpetrator narratives and a series of failures in education.

In its exhibition, the Museum Center for Persecuted Arts tells Solingen '93 - Unutturmayacağız! Never forget! Based on the history of the Genç family in connection with socio-political and social events, a German history up to the present day. Portraits created specifically for the exhibition by artist Sandra del Pilar recall the five murdered people. The artist Beata Stankiewicz has created a portrait of Mevlüde Genç, who died in 2022. The third part of the exhibition features interviews with eyewitnesses, which will be further supplemented during the exhibition and will soon be available here in their entirety.

The exhibition is accompanied by a varied program of events: literature readings, concerts and discussions should enable encounters.

The exhibition is bilingual (Turkish, German) and admission is free during the duration. A catalog, which you can purchase at the museum or in our online shop for 5 euros, accompanies the exhibition.

22 critical voices

During the exhibition design process, the museum team was aware that most of its members had the privilege of not having to fear racist attacks. Knowledge of this and engagement with discourses about a multi-perspective culture of remembrance have led to the appointment of a board of trustees of experts to critically supervise the exhibition, whose chairmanship was thankfully assumed by Federal Minister Cem Özdemir:

Murad Bayraktar, Birand Bingül, Nuran David Çalış, Ali Can, Rauf Ceylan, Hüseyin Michael Cirpici, Birgül Demirtas, Burcu Dogramaci, Özlem Özgül Dündar, Taylan Engin, Özge Erdoğan, Eren Güvercin, Musa Kavalli, Murat Kayman, Tayfun Keltek, Ozan Zakariya Keskinkılıç, Mai-Phuong Kollath, Mirza Odabaşı, Seda Rass-Turgut, Cemil Şahinöz, Çiğdem Toprak and Lale Yıldırım.

Share your memories!

Join us in commemorating the time around the Solingen attack in 1993 and beyond. The Center for Persecuted Arts invites: Her stories and short statements become an “archive of the present day.” Your video will be recorded in the museum and will remain permanently in the Solingen City Archive after the exhibition.

contact: info@verfolgte-kuenste.de

Information for press representatives with illustrations and promotional materials relating to the exhibition can be found here.

Press review

June 1, 2023: Amadeu Antonio Foundation

May 29, 2023: Deutschlandfunk Kultur

May 27, 2023: MiGazin

May 27, 2023: Evangelische Zeitung

May 28, 2023: Welt am Sonntag

May 27, 2023: Supplement to the Solinger Tageblatt

May 27, 2023: Kölnische Rundschau

May 26, 2023: Solingen magazine

May 26, 2023: WDR 5 Scala - Background Culture

May 25, 2023: WDR local time

May 25, 2023: WDR 1 news

The exhibition and event program were supported by the Gerd Kaimer Citizens' Foundation Solingen, the Rhineland Regional Association, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, Neustart Kultur, the Katholische Bildungswerk Wuppertal, Solingen, Remscheid and the Bergische VHS Solingen Wuppertal.

Eyewitness Interviews “Solingen '93” Part 1

Eyewitness Interviews “Solingen '93” Part 2

Film documentation of the commemoration on the 30th anniversary of the attack and the opening of the exhibition “Solingen '93” on May 29, 2023, supported by the Gerd Kaimer Citizens' Foundation Solingen

360° tour of the exhibition “Solingen '93”, created by Excit3D GmbH on behalf of the Solingen City Archive. For full screen display.

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exhibition view Solingen'93, original banners of the protests following the assassination attempt, photo: Birte Fritsch, © Center for Persecuted Arts, rights holder: Solingen City Archive
exhibition view Solingen'93, original banners of the protests following the assassination attempt, photo: Birte Fritsch, © Center for Persecuted Arts, rights holder: Solingen City Archive
exhibition view Solingen'93, timeline and video interviews, photo: Birte Fritsch, © Center for Persecuted Arts
Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir talking at the opening of the exhibition Solingen '93, photo: Daniela Tobias © Center for Persecuted Arts
Visit by members of the Genç family before opening the exhibition, photo: Daniela Tobias © Center for Persecuted Arts
exhibition view Solingen'93 with portrait of Mevlüde Genç made especially for the exhibition by the artist Beata Stankiewicz, photo: Birte Fritsch, © Center for Persecuted Arts
exhibition view Solingen'93 with portrait of Mevlüde Genç made especially for the exhibition by the artist Beata Stankiewicz, photo: Birte Fritsch, © Center for Persecuted Arts
Presentation of a facsimile of the portrait of Mevlüde Genç (artist: Beata Stankiewicz), photo: Daniela Tobias © Center for Persecuted Arts
exhibition view Solingen '93 in the basement, photo: Daniela Tobias © Center for Persecuted Arts
exhibition view Solingen'93, original banners of the protests following the assassination attempt, photo: Birte Fritsch, © Center for Persecuted Arts, rights holder: Solingen City Archive
exhibition view Solingen'93 with portrait of Mevlüde Genç made especially for the exhibition by the artist Beata Stankiewicz, photo: Birte Fritsch, © Center for Persecuted Arts
exhibition view Solingen'93, timeline and video interviews, photo: Birte Fritsch, © Center for Persecuted Arts
exhibition view Solingen'93 with portrait of Mevlüde Genç made especially for the exhibition by the artist Beata Stankiewicz, photo: Birte Fritsch, © Center for Persecuted Arts
Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir talking at the opening of the exhibition Solingen '93, photo: Daniela Tobias © Center for Persecuted Arts
Presentation of a facsimile of the portrait of Mevlüde Genç (artist: Beata Stankiewicz), photo: Daniela Tobias © Center for Persecuted Arts
Visit by members of the Genç family before opening the exhibition, photo: Daniela Tobias © Center for Persecuted Arts
exhibition view Solingen '93 in the basement, photo: Daniela Tobias © Center for Persecuted Arts

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