Zwischenwelten

In this interview, curator and artist Mara Yakuba discusses Zwischenwelten, a group exhibition at NEUWORKSHOP that explores migration, displacement, and belonging. Organized as a platform for dialogue, the exhibition brings together artists from different cultural backgrounds—including South Korea, China, Ukraine, and Chile—to share personal accounts on migration and the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war.

Yakuba explores the often overlooked distinction between a refugee and a contingent refugee (Kontingentflüchting). Drawing on her own experience, Yakuba explains that unlike refugees who seek asylum through the standard asylum process, contingent refugees are admitted through government-established programs.

Yakuba also reflects on the historical context of Germany’s admission of Jewish contingent refugees from the former Soviet Union in the 1990’s. Referencing Sasha Marianna Salzmann’s essay Sichtbar (“Visible”), she highlights this history shaped both legal status and personal identity. By sharing her perspective, Yakuba opens a conversation about migration, belonging, and the nuances that are often deemed as taboo in public discussion.

Featured:

• Mara Yakuba — curator and artist

• Jung-ah Hwang — artist

• Bradley Leonard — artist

• Alexandra Belokon — artist

• Andrei Iakovlev — artist

• Amaya Samper — artist

• Naho Matsuda — artist

• Ian Alejandro Vásquez Gactiúa — artist