Article:

Interesse an und in einem Bildarchiv für Migrant/innen und Flüchtlinge

With her statement »Wir schaffen das« [We can make it] chancelor Angela Mer-kel greeted the many refugees who arrived in Germany in 2015 and defined a ›Welcoming culture‹. While on the road they had uploaded their pictures on social media in order to document their troublesome journey. This essay presents plans for a digital picture archive of refugees but also of migrants and stateless persons which aim at initiating a discussion process. Because in the current situation which is characterized by huge movements of refugees one decisive aspect is often not considered: Where and how can the experiences of the refugees get documented and archived? First of all such an archive should provide possibilities to upload pictures from the journey with mobile devices, to link them with it and to store them for a longer period of time on the internet. Criteria for the definition of such an archive are culture-theoretical issues of migration, racism and xenophobia as well as the reasons of these people leaving their homes. Moreover, art-critical and photo-theoreti-cal aspects play a constitutive role. The essay states that the persons concerned should play an active role in the building process. The technical aspects are left aside here but will be essential for a following discussion.