Colonial-Era Photography in Contemporary Art at Museum Rietberg

At Museum Rietberg in Zurich, a discussion centered on archives, memory, and artistic research took place, coinciding with the exhibition 'A Kind of Paradise— Colonial-Era Photography in Contemporary Art.' This group exhibition highlights the global narratives of colonial exploitation through the works of artists such as Sammy Baloji and Sasha Huber. Baloji’s Memoire series juxtaposes archival images from Union Minière du Haut-Katanga with contemporary photographs of deserted mining sites, reflecting on the exploitative mining practices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Huber’s contribution includes stapled images of enslaved people commissioned by Swiss-American naturalist Louis Agassiz. Additionally, the Artas Foundation hosted the Art in Conflict discussion series, engaging artists, researchers, dancers, and social workers in peace-building dialogues. The author also attended an exhibition on Swiss women photographers at Fotostiftung Schweiz, which examined the challenges and advantages faced by female artists.