"The Fall – and Final – Rumble"

Dear friends, dear colleagues, dear all,

We warmly invite you to the community festival «The Fall Rumble» on Saturday, 26 September 2026, from 1:30 pm to approx. 10 pm.

What role can and should the Ethnographic Museum (EMZ) play in postcolonial Zurich? What collaborative strategies for curation and community engagement exist? And (how) can processes and insights from collaborations be further developed in a sustainable and transformative way?

These questions were at the starting point of the project «Rumble in the Archive». Through discursive, social and artistic formats, we look back on the «Rumble in the Archive» process and create visions and collective energy for continuing to rumble.

Sign up now (registration is encouraged, as it makes planning easier)

1:30–3:00 pm — «Remembering the Rumble»

In the vibrant atmosphere of the archive room, Residents, the guest curator, the EMZ co-curator and members of the audience will share insights, stories and moments from the Rumble process. A collective storytelling session reflecting on 10 months of «Rumble in the Archive».

3:00–3:30 pm — Break with coffee & cookies

3:30 pm — Panel Discussion «Collaborative Museum Work in Postcolonial Zurich – Yes, But How?» (with break)

Drawing on their experiences from «Rumble in the Archive», the Residents Salim Umar and Doris Bacalzo (studiyo filipino), as well as guest curator Rohit Jain and EMZ co-curator Alexis Malefakis, reflect on the expectations, potentials and challenges of collaborations in museums, as well as concrete pathways for the future.

Guest contributions on practices of collaboration in Zurich by Priya Mohanty (member of the Vo Da collective, Community Manager at Citizen Science, University of Zurich) and Tasnim Baghdadi (curator and co-director of Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst).

Moderation: Hannan Salamat, cultural and religious scholar, curator and moderator

Interludes: Gong dance «Kundalini Awakening» and Kulintang music «Badjao, the Sea Gipsy» by Filipino artist Hilarius Dauag

6:00–6:30 pm — Break with drinks and snacks

6:30 pm — Visions & Energies for Rumbling On

In her festival address, entitled «Über Berge und Bürger:innen» («On Mountains and Citizens»), spoken-word artist and author Fatima Moumouni presents her visions for a diverse, postcolonial Zurich.

Architect and Rumble Resident Salim Umar reads a literary text based on his research into Afro-European being and becoming in Zurich. What role do the city’s patron saints Felix, Regula and Exuperantius play in this?

In her performance «A Ritual of Belonging(s) and Per-Mission: Voice, Sound, Words & Spirit», sound artist Tracy September creates a collective space for healing and transformation.

7:30 pm — Apéro Riche by Paprika

8:30 pm — DJ Set by KUMARI b2b speedmaus from SOORIYAN, a collective of South Asian artists active in Switzerland’s subcultures. SOORIYAN approaches South Asian culture not as a spectacle for a white gaze, but as a reclaiming of space rooted in diasporic identities.

The Rumble Archive is still open until 27 September 2026. Make use of the final days and immerse yourself in questions surrounding «human zoos», colonial trade, decolonial resistance, the politics of representation, reparation, and a future museum after the restitution of the complete collection …

Let’s celebrate postcolonial Zurich and create a space for change. Carnivalesque, critical, collective and open.

Let’s keep rumbling!

I'm in on Saturday, 26 September 2026!

Rohit Jain (guest curator)
Alkebulan association (residents)
Eva De Souza (resident)
Salim Umar (resident)
studiyo filipino (residents)
Alexis Malefakis (co-curator Ethnographic Museum UZH)
Alice Hertzog (director Ethnographic Museum UZH)