What We Brought with Us

About the event:

What We Brought with Us: “Objects of Resilience: Exploring the Symbolic Weight of Refugee Things”

What We Brought with Us is an exhibition developed by Academy in Exile at TU Dortmund University, one of the three universities that comprise the University Alliance Ruhr.

The exhibition presents images of objects carried by some of Academy in Exile’s fellows when they fled from their countries of origin to Germany to where they were hosted by University of Duisburg-Essen, Free University of Berlin, Forum Transregionale Studien and Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) Essen.

It will be presented by Goethe-Institut New York and University Alliance Ruhr, is created by Academy in Exile with the support of University of Cincinnati, New York University, Mellon Foundation and Volkswagen Stiftung.

Panel Discussion

The opening panel of the exhibition with Prof. Dr. Vanessa Agnew, Prof. Kate A. Bonansinga, Prof. Dr. Kader Konuk and Prof. Dr. Ulrich Baer serves as an engaging exploration of the significance and emotional resonance carried by the objects refugees bring with them fleeing their homelands.

“What We Brought with Us” invites us to question our relationship with possessions and each other. It prompts us to reflect on what truly matters to us and what we consider most precious. Does a single object have the power to represent a lost world?

Together, we will unravel the intricate stories woven into each item, questioning the role of material possessions in shaping our collective understanding of home, belonging, and the human experience.

Online exhibition

The exhibition is also shared at the University Alliance Ruhr Artwalk with concern for those who are forced to live in exile as a result of oppression by authoritarian regimes around the world.