100% FOREIGN? – tour of Greater Copenhagen 2017-18
100 personal stories in photos and text with 100 former refugees
DATE & PLACE:
18-29 April 2017 – Copenhagen Town Hall / 21, 22, 23 April – Living dialogues
28 June-28 July 2017 – Copenhagen Town Hall
29 July-3 Sept. 2017 – Islands Brygge / outdoor
4 Sept.-21 Sept. 2017 – Amager Kulturpunkt / outdoor – with the support of Amager Øst Lokaludvalg
23 Sept.-19 Oct. 2017 – Køge Torv / outdoor
21 Oct.-13 Nov. 2017 – Nørrebro Hallen / in- and outdoor
12 Jan.-1 Feb. 2018 – Rødovre Gymnasium / in- and outdoor
3 Feb.-24 Feb. 2018 – at Ballerup Library & Hedegavens Shopping Centre / in- and outdoor
27 Feb.-12 March 2018 – Høje-Taastrup Gymnasium / indoor
17 March-4 April 2018 – Kvægtorvet, Cph. / outdoor
FREE
See all portraits on www.100pctfremmed.dk
100% Foreign? is a living archive with 100 stories, 100 photos and 100 voices with and from 100 citizens who have one thing in common – they are all former refugees.
100% Foreign? is launched to turn the tables around and give voice to this group of citizens, who are usually the topic of the debate, but whose voices are rarely heard. Based on a statistical analysis of the 161,000 people who have been given asylum in Denmark since 1956, 100 former refugees from 29 countries have been invited to participate.
The oldest participant of 100% Foreign? is now 79 and came to Denmark as one of the first refugees from Hungary as a result of the Soviet invasion in 1956, and the most recent arrived from Syria in 2016. Participants are selected in proportion to the numbers from the individual countries, e.g. 14% are from Iraq, 11% from Afghanistan and Syria, 7% from Somalia and Iran, but refugees from e.g. Hungary, China, Burundi and Chile are also represented to exemplify the flow of people dictated by world events.
The stereotype story of refugees is replaced by 100 personal and diverse life stories about being a citizen in Denmark today. Stories of belonging, longing and dreams, memories of people and places, views on society, gender, culture and religion.
“I am not at all foreign. I feel at home in Denmark, because I have created a life here. And I have made an effort to become part of Danish culture. I’ve read the Bible, I know the Danish islands, and I know how to say “hi” in the dialect of Southern Jutland.”
“I haven’t applied for Danish citizenship, as I see myself as a citizen of the world. Nationality is a category, which only intends to put mankind into categories.“
“I have a good job and I’ve had a good education in Denmark. But despite this I don’t fell at home here. My children are Danish, but I don’t know what I am.”
The photos are all created in the Tivoli gardens among the myriad of colours, symbols, figures, and materials, which characterise Tivoli as a multicultural fun fair.
CREDITS
Production: Metropolis / Københavns Internationale Teater
Concept & photography: Maja Nydal Eriksen
Interviews, text, research: Mette Katrine Balle Jensen, Sisse Nat-George
Graphic design: Elisavet Papageorgiou
Country profiles: Arian Odabaei
Calligraphy: Salim Assi
Printing: Damgaard-Jensen
Supported by: Danish Arts Foundation Committee for the Performing Arts, City of Copenhagen, Sportgoodsfonden, Interkulturelt Center, Knud Højgaards Fond
Thanks to Copenhagen Town Hall, Tivoli A/S, Danish Refugee Council, Danish Language Centres, Association of Ethnic Minorities, University of Copenhagen, VerdensKulturCentret.
