The temporary exhibition "Work & Migration. Stories from here", showcasing at the Technoseum in Mannheim, exhibits shared (rather than separate) memories of people with and without migration biographies. Individual experiences are the focus, they show how much our life and work "here" and in every other place of the immigration country Germany is interwoven with migration in all its facets.
The stories and objects were collected in a participatory process. Participation continues to play a major role in the current exhibition: visitors can become part of the exhibition themselves at many points by leaving their opinion in the discourse room or integrating photos of memorable events into the exhibition at interactive stations.
The kaleidoscope serves as an overarching metaphor for the design: if we take a look through the kaleidoscope, what we are looking at changes with every small movement. From flexible, small elements, new multiform images are constantly being assembled, colourful and surprising. The kaleidoscope illustrates the central aspects of the exhibition: processuality, perspectivity, multifacetedness and innovation.
The scenography works with two very contrasting spatial concepts: The condensation of triangles in the grid results in thematic focal points: the so-called "backdrops". They form the visual and emotional anchor points of each chapter, here places of shared memories are marked: a train station, a classroom, a children's room, an ice cream parlour. These are places, where common life takes place. Integrated in these "backdrops" personal stories are displayed in the form of interviews and exhibits. Statistics organically integrated into the scenography illustrate historical data in surprising and innovative ways. The props in the "backdrop"-sets are as rich in detail as the memories of the storytellers. Their design was developed individually, the furniture and props used are second-hand.
In contrast to the colourful "backdrops" are the basic elements of the exhibition – white steles with a triangular base and tops of varying heights – that rise monolithically into the air and, when placed in groups, create folded presentation areas. The exhibition architectures were made of low impact materials and will partly be used for the next exhibitions.
The large projection of a kaleidoscope forms a visual bracket: protagonists from the "Stories from here" greet us even before we enter the exhibition, and at the end of the tour the visitors are invited to become part of the projection themselves.
The exhibition ends with the discourse room, where the topics of racism and discrimination are actively negotiated using examples from the Mannheim region, the visitors are asked to leave their opinion. The bilingual exhibition is accessible and also takes into account the needs of wheelchair users and children of primary school age. The narrative is diversified by many hands-on stations and interactive media offers.