Migrantpolitan

Use: Event venue, artistic residency, workshop, shelter
House type: Passive house
Floor: Ground floor
Year of construction: 2014
Total size / Built-up area: 106,3 sq m
Number of rooms: 3 rooms (living room for events or everyday use like office/workshop and 2 potential bedrooms) + kitchen
Management: Migrantpolitan community
Curator & contact: Anas Aboura, Nadine Jessen
Designed and built by: Baltic Raw Org with the help of refugees and students
Area: Avant Garden in the Kampnagel site

House Biography

Migrantpolitan is a small building located in the Avant Garden at Kampnagel. Originally built as a miniature of the Rote Flora during the 2014 summer festival, it was first named the EcoFavela and provided temporary housing for refugees from October 2014 to January 2015. After undergoing multiple adaptations and reconstructions, it was renamed Migrantpolitan.

It’s a place where people gather to cook, eat, play, talk, learn, and celebrate, among other activities. Above all, however, as the name suggests, it is not a place "for" or "by" migrants, but a place "with" migrants. Migrants make up the majority of those who organize the space, plan events, and use the space for artistic and creative work, including events and fashion brands. At the same time, Migrantpolitan serves as a meeting point where people support each other daily. Migrantpolitan has shaped and supported the lives of many refugees, serving as a place to live, a shelter, a chosen family, and a space to exchange knowledge about staying in the country and discussing future prospects. It is a house deeply interconnected with Kampnagel yet remarkably independent with its own rules and freedoms. During the upcoming renovation, Migrantpolitan will be the only place that stays open.

The project raises several questions: What does the daily use of a place look like when it serves as both a workspace and a community gathering site? How does one live and work within such a small space? Did creating an unofficial shelter grounded only in artistic freedom come with its own problems? How is a building that was only ever meant to be temporary sustained over time?

While getting to know Migrantpolitan, we found ourselves asking how queer perspectives and ways of living align with migrant life, both practically and theoretically. That's why we offer insights into queer theory throughout Migrantpolitan's different themes.