The history of Tyrol is essentially characterised by migration. Over the centuries to the present day, immigration and emigration have shaped the face of this country. However, the normality of migration has so far received little attention in nationally orientated historiography. This is because history often tells of the powerful in society, who are usually the male descendants of long-established families. Women, migrants and workers are usually overshadowed.
These (mis)relations have been called into question for some years now. In the museum, the collections and, above all, the interpretation of the objects presented in the showrooms are to be systematically scrutinised. "At home here. Stories of Migration from Tyrol" will also make a contribution to this. The exhibition does not tell a story of origin but a social history. The focus is on labour migration in the 1960s and 1970s. However, there was no trace of this in the museum's collections. We have tried to close this gap by calling for collections. However, the objects are not very meaningful without the memories associated with them. Because what does migration look like? What is a migration object? We, an extensive concept group, have been working on these questions for a long time. Now we would like to pass these questions on to you. Because there are both no answers and many answers.
To emphasise the discursive character of the exhibition, it is designed as a conference room. Various topics are dealt with, with the protagonists offering a variety of perspectives. In this way, commentaries meet objects and facts to stimulate associations - as well as (self-)critical moments of reflection. For example, the questions: Who is speaking? At whose request? Who wants to hear which stories?
Making visible
Tyrol was (and is) primarily understood as something that has become - not as something that is continuously becoming. Everything that disturbed this image was excluded - this included in particular questions about cultural contacts and migration. Both were interpreted either as "not belonging" or as part of a distant past. Accordingly, these aspects of cultural and social history were neither collected nor documented in the museum.
Exhibitions offer an ideal platform for visualising aspects of regional history that have received little attention. They can create alternatives to the often uncritically accepted images of migration disseminated by the media. While statements and texts on the subject of migration have long been subject to sceptical scrutiny, especially in the media, images are still considered more credible. And when visual representations are seen as a reflection of supposedly true facts, their power is almost limitless. Images of threatening-looking masses that are supposed to represent migrants actually make them invisible.
The Tyrolean State Museums are organising a trilogy on the topic of migration, which was created in cooperation with several partners. In 2016, the exhibition "Alles fremd - alles Tirol" (Everything foreign - everything Tyrolean) sought to draw attention to cultural contacts and stereotypes. The project will continue with this exhibition in 2017 and will culminate in a series of events on migration and flight at Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum in 2018. The project will continue to be accompanied by a collection. The objects will go to Tyrolean Folk Art Museum and the Documentation Archive for Migration, which is located in the Centre for Migrants in Tyrol. The exhibition trilogy has changed the museum. Cultural contacts and migration are not just taken for granted: They are what is actually typical in Tyrol.
