Emanzenexpress_ Gemeinsam sind wir gemeiner

“Gemeinsam sind wir gemeiner” (Together we are Meaner) – this challenge from the 1980s was chosen by Eva Busch and Julia Nitschke as the subtitle for their Memory Station, which sheds light on examples of feminist struggles in the 1980s and 90s in Bochum. The title Emanzenexpress was borrowed from a magazine published by the Autonomes FrauenLesbenreferat of the Ruhr-Universität. The bridging of different generations is a crucial element of their project, whose underlying attitude lies “somewhere between a declaration of love to the earlier campaigners and critical examination”. Much of what earlier generations fought for, negotiated or managed to achieve can either barely be publically accessed or has become invisibly self-evident. Important documents are today housed in the three women’s archives in Bochum (ausZeiten feminist archive, Lieselle library for female students as well as the Madonna archive and documentation centre for sex workers), from which selected items will be on display.

The fact that the two artists are showing the material at atelier automatique, a young, self-organized studio community with a program focussing on queer feminist issues, is crucial for the site-specificity of the project. The result is a feminist space for intergenerational encounters. Leaflets reproduced in a “Living la vida loca” aesthetic are an invitation to dip into this pool. At the same time, the feminist history of Bochum is geographically documented on a wall-size, expandable map, since many places important to the movement have today disappeared. Encounters, events and discussions aim to present current perspectives on the archival materials.

Emanzenexpress is part of the project Memory Stations by the Academy of the Arts of the World/Cologne. More about the project at memorystations.online.