Events accompanying the solo exhibition of Ines Doujak
Every Courageous Life Is a Song to the Future.

HERE AND ELSEWHERE: WEBBING LIFE STORIES, WEAVING WORLDS
Workshop with our resident curator Luiza Proença

Inspired by the artworks by Ines Doujak and by proposals of other authors, the workshop was an invitation to the participants to map things and beings that are important to their lives and existences: relations, interests, dependencies, etc. If these things should be packed in a suitcase, what would this suitcase look like and what would it carry? How do these things need to be taken care of? The goal is to recognize what makes each of our worlds, how we tell our own stories, how we present ourselves to others and to cross different maps.
First, we visited Ines Doujak’s exhibition together and discussed some topics related to structures and imaginaries that provoke ecological crises, wars, extinctions, mutations and migrations. We also learned about stories of solidarity and resistance.
Second, through some exercises and questions participants developed their maps or suitcases, connecting their subjective stories to political histories, to the land and the planet, to visible or invisible communities.

*

SÜTSUIN JIYEYU WAYUU – FUERZA DE MUJERES WAYUU
Meeting with the human rights and environmental activist Jakeline Romero Epiayú from La Guajira (Colombia) and the artist Camilo Pachón, Berlin/Bogotá (Colombia)

With the organization Sütsuin Jiyeyu Wayuu – Fuerza de Mujeres Wayuu, Jakeline Romero Epiayú has been fighting since 2006 in Colombia against the blood coal from El Cerrejón and for the defense of territories, water and the rights of indigenous communities. Also the artist Camilo Pachón, who collaborates with anti-mining activists in Colombia, participated in the networking meeting.

Both were guests at the Temporary Gallery in Cologne on October 26, 2023 to network and exchange with movements, organizers, journalists and artists in North Rhine-Westphalia. The exchange dealt with questions of colonial continuities and solidary organizing as well as with the possibility of a decolonial cooperation of art, activism and art institutions. The goal of the meeting was the steady building of solidary and long-term partnering relationships.

*

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN ARE THE WOMEN OF THE REVOLUTION
Artistic solidarity parade in public space of Cologne

The main inspiration for the artworks shown in our current exhibition, Ines Doujak’s solo show “Evey Courageous Life Is a Song to the Future” have been the – often heroic – efforts of the women land defenders from all over the world – activists who fight for the protection of ecosystems and the human right to a safe and healthy environment.

On Saturday, Oct. 28 an artistic parade in public space of Cologne will took, as expression of solidarity with land defenders from around the world. The parade will be colorful and vibrant, with sculptures symbolizing the stories and struggles of these courageous women*. Accompanied by drummers, accordionists, and songs composed especially for the performance that sing the names of the land defenders, the procession created an atmosphere of solidarity and hope. Participants were dressed in colourful costumes and carrying flags, representing the diversity and strength of this movement. The event was an act of international solidarity based on the recognition that environmental protection is inseparable from political struggles against the (post)colonial domination, structural racism and misogynist practices.