Im August wird die damals zerstörte Ausstellung RE:Action wieder an ausgewählten Schaufenstern in der Stadt Weimar gezeigt. Mittlerweile kümmert sich der Verein WE United gemeinsam mit dem Netzwerk Antirassismus um die Ausstellung.
Last year’s statement I wrote on the exhibition:
(German Version)
Considering the events of the past few weeks and months; the attack on Café Spunk, the spray-painted Stolpersteine, the increase of right-wing graffiti and other incidents, we read the destruction of our last exhibition on diversity and racism as a politically motivated attack and have reported it as such – so far without results.
When we talked about the incident in the group, people expressed fear because in the exhibition there were faces of people who live in Weimar.
People who study, work and live here. People who showed their faces to share about themselves, their everyday lives and their resulting perspectives.
We can see that claiming one’s right to exist and peacefully displaying it is enough to provoke people in this city – so much so that they violently and underhandedly attack the self-expression of others.
The fear in our group stems from the fact that we no longer feel safe in Weimar. After the many attacks on people perceived as non-white or non-German in Hanau, Halle and Celle, we wonder if people in Weimar are also in danger.
A friend wrote to me after I told him what happened:
“In reaction, relevance is mirrored by action; in the degree of polarisation, the need for collective reflection on the issue negotiated in action is revealed.
Through the wanton destruction, we can see that it is crystal clear – once again – how extremely important a corresponding awareness is, as transported by the action., And that yet more needs to be created.”
Put simply; if the reaction to an exhibition in which people speak about experiences of racism is so violent, it can be seen as an indication that dealing with this topic is absolutely necessary, and that the discussion is far from over – even for the supposedly cosmopolitan, cultural city of Weimar.
There is a lot to do and we will not be silent because someone is trying to stop us from speaking.
That is why we have organised another exhibition.
We want to continue to give ourselves a platform to make ourselves heard.
We won’t let anyone take away our rights to speak, to show ourselves and to exist.
Dean Ruddock
BIPOC YMR / POL B / Antiracism Network
