SUITCASES OF MEMORIES

Refugees are often looked down upon and mistreated. From September 22 to November 6, in accordance with the Celebrate Durban Events and in an joint effort to curb such stereotypes and advocate their human rights and issues, the Durban Art Gallery presented The Suitcase Workshop. This was hosted by Art For Humanity, the eThekwini Municipality and Kulturladen Huchting, a culture-based organisation in Bremen, Germany.

The workshop focused on refugees in Durban, who spoke of their experiences and origins. Suitcase installations, which were created under the direction of artists, emphasised the cultural background, characteristics and individual strength of the refugees. Each suitcase was designed with objects which are connected with the personal history of each refugee.

The project instructed refugees to participate by gathering memorabilia that reminded them of ‘home’ which were organised in an artistic fashion and put into suitcases. The memorabilia in the suitcases allowed the migrants to voice their feelings about parts of their culture that had been lost and parts they had managed to retain, as they were integrated into the South African society. The finished suitcase installations will be exhibited with 15 other suitcase installations which were created in Bremen.