Stories and Hopes of the Arrivals to Rhine-Main Archipelago

Leseraum: The Metamorphosis of Arrivals and Hosts

The mutual transformations of guests into residents, locals into neighbors, migrants into city dwellers—this is, once again, a living, changing society. Our openness toward one another, the ability to understand one another and to read for one another, and to jointly create the knowledge that will bring us closer together, form the foundation of the urban texture around which structures, streets, and squares grow.

Reading is a process of attentive perception—not just of text—but a method of recognition and openness. Reading is not limited to text; it is a more inclusive method. One can read images, emotions, the weather, expectations, and much more. It is precisely reading that we propose as a way of coming together and getting to know one another. We will hold five joint online reading groups together. And the final Leseraum performance will be built precisely on the principle of reading as an open, inclusive, and multifaceted method of togetherness. This extensive research process will conclude with a book presentation and a curatorial lecture, featuring a narrative and demonstration of the work done and the results obtained.

We will organize a city walk (a compilation of the three from the workshops), where all participants will read the city. Participants of workshops and visitors of this walk will be main guides that day. The public program will conclude with a presentation of the publication and a lecture by the curatorial team. In a performative format, the audience will be involved in sharing and getting to know these common issues that shape society. We will showcase research documentation, personal stories, photographs, and essays by researchers that contextualize migration and diaspora processes in the region.

Oktober 2026: Opening of Slow Shelves to the public

The de_colonialanguage collective and Ani Menua (X3 PostOst Agency, PostOstCafe) bring together expertise in the fields of art, activism, and research within the context of migration processes and alternative knowledge production. They conduct transcultural work with diaspora communities and develop formats that combine public space, collective, and artistic practice.