Migrant Resistance in Hamburg in the 1990s p2p

Across twelve wall panels, the exhibition presents anti-fascist, anti-racist, and self-organized resistance by migrants, refugees, and young people in the 1990s in the Hamburg area and beyond.

Conceived as a wall newspaper by Hamburg sociologist and activist Gürsel Yıldırım, the exhibition documents, among other things, protests by migrants following the racist arson attacks in Mölln (1992), Solingen (1993), and Lübeck (1996), the struggles of refugees against forced redistribution and for the right to remain, as well as struggles over memory politics in the aftermath of racist murders.

We are very pleased to speak with the curator in person on July 07, 2026, about the background of the exhibition and what we can learn from the structures of that time for today’s struggles of resistance.

The wall panels are based on materials collected by Gürsel Yıldırım over many years: photographs of demonstrations and rallies, strikes by migrants and refugees. They show leaflets, posters, and newspaper articles. “It is about the resistance of people,” says Yıldırım, “who demand their place in society as political subjects.”

Gürsel Yıldırım was part of the migrant collective that published the magazine köXüz from 1995 to 2000 as a platform for migrants and refugees. Since then, Gürsel Yıldırım has worked in anti-racist memory activism. He places particular emphasis on renaming public spaces in memory of the victims of right-wing violence. He is active in the Hamburg initiative commemorating Ramazan Avci.

The travelling exhibition “Migrant Resistance in Hamburg in the 1990s” was created in cooperation with the International Arts Factory Kampnagel and funded by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg as part of the STADT MIT COURAGE initiative.