DiplomArt is not a cultural project, but an educational project in a cultural context: on Wednesdays between 10.00 and 16.00, the Kunsthalle studio is transformed into a safe space for 12 people with refugee experience. The DiplomArt course lasts 12 weeks. The participants are taken out of their everyday lives. Art is used as a universal language with a wide range of possible applications. Various techniques, creative means and media are used. The creative input is based on the preferences and interests of the participants. Joint and individual processes take centre stage. An important part of DiplomArt is cooking and eating together, which creates a sense of community.

The South African artist Igshaan Adams had a solo exhibition at the Kunsthalle Zürich in spring 2022. During the installation, he came to DiplomArt and offered to take over the workshop. As the son of Christian and Muslim parents and having grown up in segregated townships outside of Cape Town, he introduced the participants to the technique of weaving. This meeting platform in the studio of the Kunsthalle Zürich works in an integrative and participative way.

The participants were shown tools to express themselves non-verbally through art, strengthening their self-confidence and overcoming their isolation. Some participants are used as art mediators. On International Museum Day and on the Long Night of Museums Zurich, the annual museum night in Zurich, they give tours in their respective languages.

Whether or not an exhibition is ultimately created that is open to the public is decided by the participants themselves, as is what is presented in it.

At the end of DiplomArt, the participants receive a diploma, which is intended to facilitate the asylum process. 9 out of 39 participants have received a visa in the meantime, some of them after more than 10 years of waiting.

Malek Ossi about DiplomArt

Malek Ossi came to Switzerland from Syria at the end of 2015. In addition to his journalistic work, he is politically active and is currently training to become a social worker. We were able to recruit him as an expert for DiplomArt, who not only accompanied the project as a translator. Here he talks about his experience:

"When I was asked to take part in DiplomArt, I was unsure whether I wanted to be involved. The reason why I was sceptical had to do with the subject of "art". I simply couldn't relate to anything I had ever seen or experienced as "art". However, I found the idea that the Kunsthalle Zürich wanted to open its doors to refugees worth supporting, because refugees rarely have access to these places and especially to the projects that take place there. I agreed, but we had to postpone the project due to Covid. I was starting to worry that no one would want to come when it was finally due to start. Fortunately, I was wrong: several very different people came together and we laughed a lot together and exchanged ideas. It was so nice to see the participants' joy in this form of participation. I was impressed by how they got involved and how motivated they were. Almost all of the DiplomArt participants have a negative asylum decision and have hardly any opportunity to do anything outside of their accommodation or to visit friends. They were all very happy to get to know the Kunsthalle Zürich and to have the opportunity to express their own feelings and thoughts through art. Taking part in DiplomArt was a great experience for me personally. I really appreciated how beautiful and valuable it is to be able to work with the participants. I admire each and every one of them for their perseverance, optimism and strength to keep going. It was a great honour to be able to spend this time with you all."