Cordial Invitation

Dear friends, dear colleagues, and all interested

It’s finally happening! Together with the residents, Alkebulan Association, Eva De Souza, Salim Umar, studiyo filipino, and other partners, we are very much looking forward to celebrating the community kick-off of "Rumble in the Archive" with you on Friday, December 5, 2025, starting at 6 pm.

"Rumble in the Archive" is not an exhibition, but a collective process: between December 2025 and September 2026, residents and partners will work together to create a polyphonic archive of Zurich's colonial history and postcolonial present—focusing in particular on strategies and visions of resistance, critique and solidarity. BIPOC communities and the wider public are cordially invited to use and appropriate the space regularly in order to activate their own knowledge, stories, and perspectives. Workshops, screenings, discussions, performances, and social exchange will offer a platform to challenge the norms of the dominant society and the museum—and to create new realities and visions for postcolonial Zurich.

From 5:45 pm Arrival

6:00 pm Mandy Abou Shoak on the vision of a museum for a truly postcolonial Zurich

6:15 pm Contributions from residents and partners

> At the invitation of studiyo filipino, Reya Morgado, transgender activist, author, and journalist, will perform a Panawag-tawag ceremony passed down to her by her Babaylan grandmother. According to the Manobo of Mindanao, this ceremony calls upon Abyan guardian spirits, who bring harmony and healing.

> Architect Salim Umar will read out his text "An Architecture of the Stranger". Inspired by James Baldwin and transnational Black resistance culture, he intervenes in the city of guilds and creates space for Afropean architecture and belonging.

> The Alkebulan Association, which works in Zurich to empower people of African descent, will present video sketches on everyday racism and the planned Kwanzaa festival.

> Vinije Haabo, linguist and representative of the Maroon community of the Saamaka from southern Suriname, will join us from Amsterdam. Based on the Fi Pau ("captain's staff") from the Harrer Collection in Zurich, he will present and call for decolonial forms of museum work.

7:15 pm Walkabout in the Rumble Archive and Filipino buffet curated by Studio Chou Chou

8:30 pm Concert by Zurich duo Siselabonga

South African-Zimbabwean singer Nongoma Ndlovu and Swiss percussionist Fabio Meier create "Afro Soul Tronic"—a fusion cocktail that combines electronica, spiritual world soul, and pop elements from the Afro-diaspora.

Around 9:30 pm Wrap-up

> You find more information about the residents and the «Rumble in the Archive» project on the website.
> It's open house: you can arrive later or leave earlier. Bring friends and family!
> The event is free and most contributions will be in English. We will arrange whispered translation if needed.

We are very excited to forge new relationships, share new stories, and learn from each other—in short, to make ourselves at home in postcolonial Zurich.

… so, let’s get ready to rumble!

Rohit Jain (project co-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)

P.S. This newsletter will keep you informed about the activities of "Rumble in the Archive". If you would like to unsubscribe, please do so via the form  on the website.