Exhibition 'They Used To Call Us Guest Workers' at Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (MK&G) is presenting the exhibition 'They Used To Call Us Guest Workers' from October 31, 2025, to May 17, 2026. The show features approximately 80 photographs and collages by four amateur photographers—Muhlis Kenter, Nuri Musluoğlu, Asimina Paradissa, and Mehmet Ünal—who migrated to West Germany from Turkey and Greece in the 1960s and 1970s. Their work documents the lives, labor, and political engagement of migrant communities from a firsthand perspective, addressing themes such as social inequality, sexism, racism, and exile. The exhibition is part of the museum's effort to expand its photography and new media collection with these historically significant works. The photographers were influenced by the workers' photography movement, which encouraged laborers to use cameras to depict their realities and challenge social barriers. Muhlis Kenter, a professor from Bremen, captured Turkish workers in industries like mining and textiles, as well as German societal hobbies. Nuri Musluoğlu focused on public protests, peace marches, and German-Turkish coexistence in Heilbronn. Asimina Paradissa, one of the few migrant women photographers, documented her life in workers' hostels and factories, offering a rare female viewpoint. Mehmet Ünal created political image-text collages critiquing bureaucracy and exclusion faced by immigrants. The exhibition provides an overlooked perspective on socio-political issues that remain relevant today, highlighting the contributions of migrant photographers to Germany's visual history.