Meet The Memory Person
A performative monument by
Anick Messerschmitt | Eliza Kokeyan | Elvin Turgut | Emver Retzep Oglou | Franziska Windolf with quotations paraphrasing Adnan Al-Dhahir, Haydar Isik, Ivan Binar, Milorad Vujovic, Wladimir Nikolajewitsch Woinowitsch | Hanna Vasina | Iriet Yusuf | Iriet Yusuf and her primary school children in Giesing | Kathrin Knöpfle | Katja Kushnir | Ksenia Bykovsky | Leonid Hrytsak | Liana Chernetska | Maisoun Alfarawati | Manuel Friedrich | Mariam Monga | Mehmet “Schlosser” | Miriam Worek | Natalia Shynkarova | Nicolas Wannenmacher | Olena Mytko | Pepi | Ping-Pong group | Seb | Selin Julia Sissiyo | smadlmachts | Su Turhan | Viktoriia Ivasyshyna | Some, who wish to remain anonymous.
2023 - ongoing
Artistic concept: Franziska Windolf
Curation: Mareike Schwarz (2023)
Performers: Lisavieta Bogushevskaya, Simone Kokou, Viviana Iacob, Franziska Windolf, Konouz Saeed, Kathrin Knöpfle
︎ Project website: https://www.memoryperson.com/de
︎ Sign up for newsletter
︎ meet_the_memory_person
︎ Catalogue
The Memory Person: A Performative Monument to Migrant and Exiled Creative Voices
From July to October 2023 and August 2024, The Memory Person, a fictional public figure embodied by different performers, served as a unique and interactive public art installation in the Giesing district of Munich. This project aimed to preserve and celebrate the memories of exiled creative individuals, fostering a connection between the past, present, and future.
Collecting and Sharing Stories
By engaging with current residents of Giesing, The Memory Person collected personal narratives, artworks, and experiences. These stories illuminated the often-overlooked contributions of exiled and migrated artists and creatives to the cultural and social fabric of the city. Through curated city walks to sites of exile and migration, workshops, and casual encounters, the project sought to amplify these underrepresented voices and make them accessible to a wider audience.
A Walking Repository of Remembrance
Inspired by Karl Valentin's iconic 'Reklamemensch,' The Memory Person adorned their clothing with objects of remembrance. These items served as visual cues, prompting conversations and exchanges with passersby. In return for sharing their own memories, participants received one of these tokens, creating a tangible connection to the project and fostering a sense of shared history.
A Polyphonic Approach to Commemoration
The Memory Person challenged traditional notions of commemoration by intertwining diverse perspectives and experiences. Through the exchange of memories and the collection of artifacts, the project aimed to create a more inclusive and multifaceted understanding of the past.
A Continuing Journey
The project is ongoing and will travel to Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic, in October 2024 with the thematic focus on 'Identity and family history in the Sudetenland.'
Catalogue in German and English: PDF
Text in English:
https://www.globaldisconnect.org/12/12/not-only-cast-steel-or-chiselled-stone-people-can-be-monuments-too-an-exploration-of-the-memory-person/
https://static.ub.uni-muenchen.de/index.php/static/issue/view/8/7
Video documentation by filmmaker Mathias Reitz Zausinger, 2023
Funded by
2023
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No 724649-METROMOD). This project was developed within Franziska Windolf’s fellowship at the Käte Hamburger Research Centre global dis:connect and was initiated by the ERC project ‘Relocating Modernism: Global Metropolises, Modern Art and Exile (METROMOD)’.
2024
