Now You See Me Moria
Until the first of august on show in the entrance hall of FOMU
Various cultural organizations all over Europe present Now You See Me Moria. In Belgium you can view this project at FOMU (Antwerp), CIVA (Brussels) and Les Chiroux (Liège).
Moria, on the Greek island of Lesbos, is the largest refugee camp in Europe. It is overcrowded and living conditions are inhumane. Apart from the fire in September 2020, hardly any images get out. On the Instagram account @now_you_see_me_moria,
residents of the camp share their pictures and stories. Now You See Me Moria is a powerful document of lived experience and an unequivocal call to action.
Early this year, they made an open call to graphic designers, more than 500 designers worldwide answered to their call. 446 protest posters were created, free to download and popped up on walls and windows across Europe on San Valentine's day. Later on, to increase visibility they designed the "action" book with the 446 posters and 15 photographs from Amir, Ali, Qutaeba and Mostafa.
FOMU, CIVA and Les Chiroux believe in photography’s power to facilitate change. Each partner will host an exhibition and use its platform to give visibility to Now You See Me Moria. In addition to Belgium, Now You See Me Moria will be on display at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Foam, Nederlands Fotomuseum (NL), Fotodok (DE), and many other cultural organizations in Europe.
Now You See Me Moria is currently on display at FOMU and CIVA. Les Chiroux will present the project as part of TempoColor in September - October 2022.
Now You See Me Moria will also be shown this summer at the Pukkelpop music festival (Hasselt) from 19 to 22 August. The presentation at Pukkelpop is part of Art United, a collaboration between various cultural partners - including FOMU - to bring culture to the festival site.
About Now You See Me Moria
Now You See Me Moria was started by Amir, a young Afghan refugee stuck in Moria, in August 2020 and Spanish photographer and photo-editor Noemí, who lives and works in the Netherlands. In an effort to make people in Europe aware of the inhumane situation in Moria, they launched an lnstagram account sharing photos and stories about daily life in the camp.
They are joined by photographers Ali and Mostafa from Afghanistan, Qutaeba from Syria, graphic designers like Raoul, street artists, political science students and a growing number of others. The photos made by the residents show the daily life in the camp, the miserable conditions but sometimes also the unexpected beauty. The posters made on the basis of these photos depict and express anger and impotence but are above all an indictment of the failing European refugee policy. Change of that policy is the goal of the international collective Now You See Me Moria.
Action book
In collaboration with Paradox, the collective launched an action book in June, 2021. The book is a ready-made protest tool, designed to spread the message. The exhibition kit and book include: 446 posters, 15 photos, texts and a manifesto. The book is available oin the FOMU shop and on the FOMU webshop. All those involved in this project cooperate on a voluntary basis. A possible financial positive result for the Now You See Me Moria Action Book will be transferred to the community in Moria.
Practical information
Now You See Me Moria is on show in the entrance hall of FOMU. Due to the corona measures in force, the FOMU is currently only accessible to people with a ticket. Book your ticket via https://tickets.fomu.be
The action book is for sale in the museum shop and the FOMU webshop for €50.
For a press visit, press images and questions, please contact Isabelle Willems and Sarah Skoric.
Photographers: Amir, Ali, Mostafa from Afghanistan, Qutaeba from Syria
Action book designed by Raoul Gottschling and Christian Knöepfel
Spokesperson Now You See Me Moria: Noemi, info@nowyouseememoria.eu
www.nowyouseememoria.eu
Instagram @Now_You_See_Me_Moria
Isabelle Willems
Sarah Skoric