Art Club 44 hosted an unusual exhibit under the somewhat provocative title, Germans as Foreigners, dedicated Germans born in the Fatherland but living and working in different countries. Jens drinking coffee with his Pakistani colleague; Kristof with Huberto, his partner in the jewelry business in Slovenia where our hero also married; Volkner Engel, 1997 Oscar-winner for stunt filming – in America, of course... These people found themselves far from their homeland and managed to put their individual capabilities to good use. They are happy and show how one can remember one’s ethnic origin far away from one’s native land. The exposition consists of large photo posters under glass, portraying pairs, sometimes hinting at their occupation. The captions contain brief life stories of Germans scattered by fate all over the world. The pictures do not claim to represent the summits of art photography: everything is in documentary style but boasts top quality and is pleasing to the eye. It is, in a word, done the German way. The exhibit also illustrates the attitude of the state toward its citizens now living faraway; it is proud of them and enthusiastically tells about them.
What makes Germans leave their country, considering that Germany has registered quite effective economic growth over the past fifty years, remaining a kind of locomotive in Europe? This question was posed by German Ambassador Dietmar StЯdemann at the ceremony of opening the photo exhibit. “Change is the only constant – this ought to be the diplomats’ motto, yet we share this destiny also with many fellow countrymen,” he noted and recited a poem by German- speaking poetess Rosa AuslКnder born in Chernivtsi. Mr. StЯdemann stressed the phenomenon of that Ukrainian city’s multilingualism and local color, and that all this has never prevented local inhabitants from finding much in common and building their life together. Flags of different countries, indicating the current countries of residence of all those German immigrants were mounted by the photos, forming a special kind of harmony. A Ukrainian flag was also there, by the photo of a well-known Kyiv businessman known to many as Eric. He a co-owner of a number of restaurants, pubs, and cocktail bars united into Eric’s Family. Art Club 44 is also its member: you won’t find that many giant colorful candles anywhere else in the city. At the party that night, Mykola Shkaraban read “Looking for Happiness in Strange Lands,” the Kostiantyn Strelchenko Trio played charming European tunes, and Yury Andrukhovych, guest at the presentation, had an opportunity to put his German to good use, communicating with VIP guests. Openly longing for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he obviously felt quite at home.
