Exile in the Federal Republic of Germany: Conditions and challenges for artists

The term 'exile' is currently used in a political, media and academic context to refer directly and exclusively to the experience of persecution for political and ideological reasons in the years from 1933 to 1945. The focus is therefore on flight and expulsion (or as it is usually called: 'emigration') from National Socialist Germany or from the territories acquired, conquered and occupied by Germany since 1938, which resulted in spatial movements all over the world (specifically around 80 target countries). The term exile is also very rarely associated with other historical and contemporary phenomena. The fact that the Federal Republic of Germany, whose founding document, the Basic Law, granted asylum to politically persecuted persons, was also a country of exile from the very beginning is rarely mentioned. Since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011 and the increased admission of people seeking protection, particularly from the Middle East and Turkey, over the past three or four years, the number of artists who have arrived in Germany has increased considerably.

The aims of the project are

1. To provide information on the number of artists who have come to Germany in the second decade of the 21st century fleeing violence and political persecution from all over the world and are living here. In addition, information on countries of origin, circumstances of flight, residence status and working and living conditions will be compiled.
2. To provide information about the support structures and support systems in the Federal Republic of Germany and their capabilities.
3. To provide information on how artists perceive the Federal Republic of Germany as a country of exile, but also on the challenges posed by a different language and a new audience, the loss of networks and institutional connections, as well as on the artistic engagement of artists seeking protection with exile and with the Federal Republic of Germany as a country of exile.

 Zur Pressemitteilung BKM

 Studie (PDF, 791 kB)

Studie im Dezember 2019 erschienen als Heft   53/2020 der IMIS-Beiträge