The multimedia exhibition "DIVERSITY" by UAS students Anica Jacobsen, Friederike Emming, Ouwina Bräuniger and Christoph Schmitz (Faculty of Design) will be on display at the LWL Museum of Archaeology and Culture in Herne for several weeks from January 25, 2024.
Social diversity is a topic that moves many, tires some, generates debate and sometimes polarizes. In order to inform interested parties for future discussions and invite them to actively participate in the debate on diversity, students from Fachhochschule Dortmund have developed the "DIVERSITY" exhibition. The exhibition asks: How can a debate be conducted appropriately? What language and tone is needed? What perspectives are there?
At six stations with eleven video interviews, people talk about their individuality in terms of gender, origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability and generation. Eleven people answer questions about non-binary identity, home and cultural differences, racism and life as non-white people (people of color), Islam and being German, homosexuality and coming out, as well as life with a disability.
Get into conversation
"The list of aspects that connect or differentiate people is endless," says Anica Jacobsen, one of the exhibition organizers and student volunteer in the exhibition design department at the Museum of the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe (LWL). For museum director Dr. Doreen Mölders, the exhibition addresses an important topic in contemporary society. "And as a friendly meeting place, the former museum café is exactly the right place for such a debate," says Doreen Mölders.
In order to hold discussions and debates not about each other, but with each other, the students asked different people about the reality of their lives - because discussions about diversity are often held without those affected. "Some terms run the risk of offending or reproducing negative attributions without people being aware of it," says Anica Jacobsen. For this reason, visitors are given the opportunity to engage with definitions using explanatory cards and are invited to create their own personal set of cards to take away with them.
The exhibition was designed by students from the Scenography study program for the two-day Scenography Colloquium 2022 at the DASA Arbeitswelt exhibition. It has already been on display at the Dortmund Museum of Art and Cultural History and was also awarded the Fachhochschule Dortmund's "≠ Design and Gender" prize. "DIVERSITY" can be seen at the LWL Museum Herne until March 24, 2024.