Solidarisiert Euch! / Stand in Solidarity! exhibition

Stand in Solidarity! is an exhibition about Black resistance and global anti-colonialism in Berlin in the period of the Weimar Republic from 1919 to 1933. Organized by the project Dekoloniale Memory Culture in the City in cooperation with the Museum Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, it will be on display in the Villa Oppenheim until March 17, 2024.

From Dekoloniale’s website:

The exhibition understands itself as a contribution to the decolonization of the city’s history and focuses on actors from the former German colonies in Africa and on the history of the Black movement.

In the political forcefield of the Weimar Republic, between the end of monarchy and colonial rule, the ascent of communist internationalism and the rise of the National Socialists, Berlin became a postcolonial metropolis in a largely colonial world: migrants from Germany’s withdrawn colonies in Africa already lived here. The city also became a center of attraction for numerous actors from North African, Asian and Arabic regions.
Coming from different colonial contexts, they became politically active, formed anti-colonial alliances, demanded independence for their countries of origin and resisted racism. Although the motives and circumstances of their stays differed, moments of solidarity emerge that are made visible by the exhibition. The Communist International (Comintern) played a central role, which provided a common political language and financial resources.

For the design, Visual Intelligence worked with two typefaces by Black type designers: the title on the four posters and the headlines inside the exhibition use VTC Martin by Tré Seals (Vocal Type), in all caps. Text is added in Josh Darden’s Halyard (Darden Studio), in styles from its Display and Micro sizes. To differentiate the languages visually, German text is forward-slanted while English text is backslanted.