Think far ahead, because the monument is already there

Think ahead, because the monument is already there. Gndin dur, kaj o monumento lace si kothe.

The artwork “9841,” a monument created in 2012 by the artist collective BEWEGUNG NURR in honor of the Sinti boxer Johann “Rukeli” Trollmann on the grounds of the Hellerau Festspielhaus, will reopen following renovation.

The persecution and extermination of the Roma* and Sinti* under National Socialism is virtually invisible in this city, in Europe. Memorial sites and monuments had to be fought for; some are falling into disrepair again. The Berlin monument to the Sinti* and Roma* of Europe murdered under National Socialism is to make way for an infrastructure project.

In Dresden, the Boxring 9841 stands as one of the larger memorials in Germany commemorating the murder of the Sinti* and Roma*. Starting from this memorial, we present architectures and practices of remembrance—the struggles, forms, and aesthetics associated with them—and situate them within the local context.

What ideas, thoughts, policies, and forms of resistance are needed to remember the persecution and murder of Roma* and Sinti* in our present day? The program seeks answers to these questions.