Migrant Women’s Memory Box
archived by the Bibliothek der Generationen
housed at the Histroical Museum Frankfurt
The Library of Generations is an artistic reminiscence project developed by artist Sigrid Sigurdsson in 2005 and will be housed in the Historisches Museum Frankfurt (Historical Museum Frankfurt) until 2105.
In 2014, based on their socio-political activities in Frankfurt am Main, the Bundesverband der Migrantinnen e.V.-GKB (Federal German Migrant Women’s Association—Göçmen Kadınlar Birliği) was invited to the Bibliothek der Generationen (Library of Generations).
The principal intention of the participatory museum project is to archive the (HER)story of migrant women by documenting their struggles through the years, achievements in the present day, and goals for the future.
Since May 2023, the Migrant Women’s Memory box has been open to visitors at the museum, along with four originally curated and edited publications, the GKB institutional digital and print archival, and the participatory exhibition materials.
My curatorial practice brings together academic research, policy-making, and creative collaboration to co-produce information with marginalized communities.
— elif çiğdem artan, phd

who is GKB?

The Federal Association of Migrant Women (Bundesverband der Migrantinnen e.V.) was founded in 2005 and is now represented in more than 20 cities through its member associations and local branches. The association counts over 500 registered members, and an additional 4,000 women regularly participate in its activities—engaging with economic and sociopolitical issues both in Germany and in their countries of origin. Coming from various regions of Turkey, they collaborate with German women’s organizations and migrant women from other backgrounds to advocate for their rights—particularly in the areas of social life, labor conditions, and immigration policy.
selected originally produced
archival materials
exhibitions :: publications :: audio/visuals
ABC of the Federal German Migrant Women’s Association:
A Female Dictionary
Pop-Up Exhibition:
— “ABC of Migrant Women Association: A Female Dictionary,” ARTIST Fair, Istanbul, 12-20 November 2016
— Frankfurt Historical Museum, Frankfurt am Main, 28 June 2016
— 8th of March Fairs of Berlin-MigrantinnenVerein e.V., Berlin, 8 March 2016
— 10th Anniversary Festival of Bundesverband der Migrantinnen e.V., Cologne, 28 November 2015
A co-written dictionary project collecting key concepts reflecting on the association’s experiences in socio-political, economical and cultural domains in Germany.
The dictionary presents a counter-narrative of excluded marginalized communities from the traditional migration history in Germany with participatory information production.
I coordinated and curated the exhibition along with a team composed of GKB Berlin volunteers alongside a professional team, including an architect, graphic designer, and translator.
World from Female Perspective!
IG Metall-Haus, Berlin, 13 July – 8 September 2017
A retrospective look at the association’s 12-year-long fighting for gender equality in Germany. The participatory exhibition made the key themes of equity from migrant women perspective visible in the middle of the capital, in Kreuzberg, showcasing the authentic narrative in 5 sections through diverse installation of photos, brochures, banners, and artifacts:
- ABC of Migrant Women’s Association: A Female Dictionary – Texts and images reflecting migrant women’s experiences.
- A Room of One’s Own – Bilingual magazine covers capturing women’s struggles and solidarity.
- Photo Album – Archival images documenting migrant women’s political, social and cultural engagement.
- reMake—reLive – Handmade objects reflecting economic and political engagement.
- The Chest – Protest materials showcasing visibility of migrant women’s rights in public spaces.
I coordinated and curated the exhibition along with a team composed of GKB Berlin volunteers alongside a professional team, including an architect, graphic designer, and translator.
A collaboratively authored publication amplifying the personal stories and collective memories of migrant women, reclaiming space in social memory and public discourse.

An oral history and song collection preserving the intangible cultural heritage of migrant women, highlighting their voices through storytelling and performance.

A participatory archive of events, workshops, and actions led by migrant women’s communities, offering a model for grassroots community documentation and empowerment.

A collaborative project documenting the story of women’s unification in exile, in Germany, reflecting solidarity, shared struggles, and collective identity across borders.

exhibition/public event
Tea O’clock at the Frankfurt Historical Museum
Join us for tea!
GKB hosted Tea O’clock at the Frankfurt Historical Museum, where the exhibition The ABC of the Union of Migrant Women: A Feminine Dictionary was also on display. We enjoyed authentic taste of tea from Turkey accompanied by delicious food prepared by the volunterr women active with GKB-Frankfurt. We had warm conversations with our local guests about the the Federal German Migrant Women’s Association’s short-term andf long-trm sociopolitical goals and the work we’ve been carrying out as part of the Bibliothek der Generationen project.
As the Frankfurt GKB Women’s Choir performed songs that brought a festive atmosphere to the room, women from GKB and local guests sang and danced together. Between songs, choir director Yusuf Sönmez gave short, informative talks sharing the cultural significance and history of each türkü (folk song). The guests’ enthusiastic response to the choir highlighted the archival importance of our upcoming folk song documentation project, which will be developed under BdA119 within the framework of intangible cultural heritage.
Dr. Angela Jannelli, curator of the Library of the Elders, welcomed all guests and emphasized the potential of Sigrid Sigurdsson’s artistic memory project as a space for encounters. In conversation with Angela Jannelli, Zehra Ayyıldız, and Elif Çiğdem ARtan, outlined the association’s diverse activities and explained the motivation behind the women’s decision to take on authorship in the Library of the Generationes. Above all, it is important to the women of the association to tell the story of migration from their own perspective and to show future generations that social engagement matters.
360-degree
data-driven information production
selected publications :: talks

Migrant Women’s Reminiscence Box in Frankfurt
Feminist Pedagogy: Museums, Memory Sites, and Practices of Remembrance, edited by Meral Akkent and S. Nehir Kovar, İstos Publication, Nov. 2019.
The Federal German Migrant Women Association was founded in 2005 in Frankfurt, and then expanded to more than 20 cities. Women, coming from different geographies in Turkey, present diverse ethnical and religious identities in the association. They participate or organize demonstrations, hand out information flyers, and cooperate with local and international institutions for their common interests as they are basically part of worker, migrant, and feminist movements. Based on their socio-political activities in the city, in 2014, migrant women were invited to the Library of Generations. It is an artistic reminiscence project to be housed in Frankfurt Historical Museum until 2105. The principle intention in the participatory museum project is to archive the history of migrant women in the perspective of documenting their struggles through the years, achievements in the present day, and goals for the future.
Archival materials in the reminiscence box, which are produced in a series of workshops, are basically instruments for women to tell their own stories, and it includes a short story book, choir recording, 10 years anniversary book, a short-documentary, etc. Undoubtedly, posters, flyers, press releases, and especially their periodical publications “Woman” represent migrant women’s memory in Germany. Additionally, the project includes two participatory exhibitions: Firstly, “ABC of Migrant Women Association: A Female Dictionary” (Cologne, 2015; Frankfurt, 2016; İstanbul, 2016; Berlin, 2017), an A to Z list of visual and textual interrogation of socially constructed words, objects, emotions, and even colors; secondly, “World from Female Perspective!” (Berlin, 2017), exposing colorful, fighter, and collaborator environment of migrant women through photo albums, and various artistic installations.

Migrant Women’s Reminiscence Box in Frankfurt
“Feminist Pedagogy: Museums, Memory Sites and Practices of Remembrance ” Conference, 19 October 2018, Istanbul
A conference organized by the Women’s Museum Istanbul and Sabancı University Gender and Women’s Studies Excellence Center (SU Gender).

Reconfiguration of ‘Migration’ and ‘Woman’ in a Participatory Museum Project
ICOM/CAMOC Workshop: Migration:Cities, Frankfurt am Main, 2018
For a very long time, migration was often represented in museums by displaying suitcases which can be considered as a romantic representation of migrants: “They pack their little lives” in a suitcase and leave for a foreign country. In many museum displays, suitcases stand for the good old days, but also for poverty and for the hope for a better life. Furthermore, instead of presenting migrant groups by a variety of themes such as their struggles, achievements, and goals, museums preferred to link migration to the national history, emphasizing the concept of multiculturalism. Thus, a picture of different people living together happily was drawn. The basic problem with this picture is that it doesn’t reflect the change in time and space.

Empowering Marginalised Voices for Social Justice
MuseumNext—Museum Social Impact Summit, 2024
Established in Frankfurt in 2005, the Federal German Migrant Women’s Association brings together women from different regions in Turkey and joined the Library of Generations project, housed in the Frankfurt Historical Museum for 105 years (2000-2105). The applied participatory curatorship in the project instrumentalizes archival materials to enable migrant women to tell their stories. Hence, this talk prompts a call to reevaluate museum roles between curators and participants by advocating for amplifying marginalized communities’ voices in decolonizing museums. Consequently, this work contributes to the participatory discourse, emphasizing museums’ evolving role in advancing social justice.
Image © Historical Museum Frankfurt

Representing Intersectional Communities: How to Increase Gender, Ethnic, and Social Class Diversity in City Museums?
ICOM/CAMOC 2023 Annual Conference — Changing Cities, Changing Museums, New York, 16-18 Oct. 2023
Established in Frankfurt in 2005, the Federal German Migrant Women’s Association brings together women from different regions in Turkey and joined the Library of Generations project, housed in the Frankfurt Historical Museum for 105 years (2000-2105). The applied participatory curatorship in the project instrumentalizes archival materials to enable migrant women to tell their stories. Hence, this talk prompts a call to reevaluate museum roles between curators and participants by advocating for amplifying marginalized communities’ voices in decolonizing museums. Consequently, this work contributes to the participatory discourse, emphasizing museums’ evolving role in advancing social justice.
continue to explore
my portfolio and resume
portfolio*
#SelectedProjects
Migrant Women’s Memory Box
DFG Doctoral Fellowship
Vehbi Koç Foundation M.A. Fellowship
2022/23 Mercator-IPC fellowship
anti-racist feminist policy-making
#WritingForVariousAudiences
Critical Insights on Autonomous Archiving, Intersectional Feminism,
and Participatory Museology
#SpeakingAtDiverseLevels
Critical Discussions on History-Writing, Gender Equality,
and Inclusive Museum
#ParticipatoryCuratorship
publications
I coordinated and edited 4 bilingual publications in TR/GER that highlight the experiences of women immigrated from Turkey to Germany.
These books were created in a participatory process through workshops, making sure the voices of women—often left out of migration history—are recorded.
My scholarly and professional experience in autonomous archiving and intersectional research guided effectively these publications, turning community stories into lasting records as information resources for future actions—for social impact on future research, publication, and political and daily narratives.
exhibitions
I curated two participatory exhibition projects with GKB-migrant women to reconfigure patriarchal stereotypes of ‘migrant’ and ‘woman,’ by opening the stage to migrant women to tell their own narratives—in the face of institutional and structural migration history in Germany:
ABC of the Federal Germany Migrant Women’s Association: A Female Dictionary: A community-built collection of entries reflecting on the association’s experiences in socio-political, economical and cultural domains.
The World from a Female Perspective: A retrospective look at the association’s 12-year-long fighting for equal rights in Germany.
My problem-solver embracing ALL within an intersectional feminist pedagogy approach enhanced these projects’ management into power-sharing by engaging more than 200 women in total—from different regions of the country.
What if goodreads were as colorful as the literature?
Redesigning the goodreads app with a “themes” option
In the realm of literature, the conventional association of reading with me-time, nature, and tranquility has often inspired designs featuring hues of green and beige and their calming tones. However, literature itself is a vibrant spectrum, from the texts within books to their colorful covers. For my inaugural individual UX/UI design project at the Iron Hack BootCamp, I’ve opted to redesign the well-known native mobile app goodreads. This case study unfolds the journey of the vibrant “pop mode” I envisioned for goodreads.
gradmindfull: Empower your academic journey with like-minded people
Discover a holistic approach to student wellness that fosters productivity, creativity, and self-care within a supportive community — all within a single, intuitive iOS app tailored exclusively for students.
In today’s fast-paced world, where physical and mental well-being have gained paramount importance, the need for wellness apps is more apparent than ever. While many such apps offer guidance on exercise, sleep, and mindfulness, there’s a distinct gap when it comes to catering to the unique challenges faced by students. Enter gradmindfull: the all-in-one solution designed to help students relax, feel empowered, and succeed in their academic journey alongside like-minded peers. This case study unravels the story of my varied roles throughout the product design process, which I undertook for my solo UX/UI design project at the Iron Hack BootCamp.
Rediscovering Tranquility: Crafting a Digital Façade for El molí de Can Aulet
Engaging with Nature in UX/UI Design for Rural Tourism
Nestled in the serene embrace of Montseny, El molí de Can Aulet unfolds a story of tranquility, offering rustic cabins that whisper tales of nature’s beauty. Join us on a journey through the digital realms, as we reimagine the Mill’s (El molí de Can Aulet) online façade to echo the essence of “enjoy nature” and redefine rural tourism. This is the case study of our second group project assigned at the Iron Hack, Berlin-UX/UI Design bootcamp.
#SelectedPosts
Bir Oyun, Bir Hikâye, Bir Görsel Dil: Sultan’ın Dijital Kimliği
#ChronicleBuzzy: Yıllık Z Raporunun Instagram Carousel Post Hali
@muzede_drama 2024 Etkinlikleri: 1 Yıllık Takvimin Görselleştirilmesi
resume*
2022/23 Mercator-IPC Fellow at Sabancı University, Istanbul Policy Center, Sept 2022 – Aug 2023
Researcher at DaMigra e.V. (the Umbrella Organization of Migrant Women’s Self-Organizations in Germany), May 2019 – Sep 2022
Coordinator and Curator (Freelancer) at the Historical Museum Frankfurt, June 2014 – May 2023
Business Development Projects (Digital Marketing) at Pera Museum, Istanbul, Jan 2010 – Feb 2012
PhD | IGK—Berlin-New York, Toronto—Center for Metropolitan Studies, TU-Berlin, DFG Doctoral Fellow § TU Compilation Fellow, May 2015 – Feb 2021
Visiting Scholar | City University of New York, CUNY, Digital Humanities, DFG Fellow, Sept – Dec 2016
M.A. | Koç University, Istanbul, Anatolian Civilizations and Cultural Heritage Management, Koç University Fellow, Sept 2007 – Jan 2010
B.A. | Galatasaray University, Istanbul, Sociology, Sept 2003 – June 2007
scholarships
Mercator Stiftung – Istanbul Policy Center, Sabancı University, Fellowship, September 2022-August 2023
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Doctoral Research Fellowship, May 2015-April 2018
Vehbi Koç Foundation, Koç University, Anatolian Civilizations and Cultural Heritage Management, M.A. Program, Full Fellowship, 2007-2009
European Commission, Erasmus Exchange Program Fellowship, Sept. 2005- Feb. 2006
grants
DA BIN ICH: Ehe-unabhängiger Aufenthaltstitel für von häuslicher Gewalt betroffenen Migrant:innen (HERE I AM: Residence Permit Independent from the Husband for Migrant Women Affected by the Domestic Violence), Workshop with the Federal German Migrant Women’s Association, Frauenreferat Frankfurt, October – November, 2022
CAMOC Annual Conference, Travel Grant, 2023
Technische Universität Berlin, Doctoral Research Completion Grant, May – October 2018
CUNY (City University of New York)—Visiting Scholar, DFG-TU Berlin-IGK, September – December 2016
CAMOC Annual Conference, Travel Grant, CAMOC, 2019
CAMOC Annual Conference, Travel Grant, DFG-TU Berlin-IGK, 2015
tools
- Microsoft
- Google Workspace
- Slack
- Canva
- Figma
- Notion
- WordPRess
- InDesign
soft skills
- Digital culture passionate
- User-centric critical
- Solution-oriented
- Intellectually curious
- Thinking out of the box
- Persistent
Language Skills
- Turkish: Native
- English: Mastery
- German: Professional
- French: Professional
memberships
Müzecilik Meslek Kuruluşu Derneği (the Museum Professionals Association in Turkey), MMKD, Co-Founder
ICOM (the International Council of Museums), Independent Member
CAMOC (the International Committee for the Collections and Activities of Museums of Cities) / ICOM, Independent Member
certificates
WordPress Installation
UX/UI Design
MuseumPlus Grundlagen
portfolio*
#SelectedProjects
Migrant Women’s Memory Box
DFG Doctoral Fellowship
Vehbi Koç Foundation M.A. Fellowship
2022/23 Mercator-IPC fellowship
anti-racist feminist policy-making
#WritingForVariousAudiences
Critical Insights on Autonomous Archiving, Intersectional Feminism,
and Participatory Museology
#SpeakingAtDiverseLevels
Critical Discussions on History-Writing, Gender Equality,
and Inclusive Museum
#ParticipatoryCuratorship
publications
I coordinated and edited 4 bilingual publications in TR/GER that highlight the experiences of women immigrated from Turkey to Germany.
These books were created in a participatory process through workshops, making sure the voices of women—often left out of migration history—are recorded.
My scholarly and professional experience in autonomous archiving and intersectional research guided effectively these publications, turning community stories into lasting records as information resources for future actions—for social impact on future research, publication, and political and daily narratives.
exhibitions
I curated two participatory exhibition projects with GKB-migrant women to reconfigure patriarchal stereotypes of ‘migrant’ and ‘woman,’ by opening the stage to migrant women to tell their own narratives—in the face of institutional and structural migration history in Germany:
ABC of the Federal Germany Migrant Women’s Association: A Female Dictionary: A community-built collection of entries reflecting on the association’s experiences in socio-political, economical and cultural domains.
The World from a Female Perspective: A retrospective look at the association’s 12-year-long fighting for equal rights in Germany.
My problem-solver embracing ALL within an intersectional feminist pedagogy approach enhanced these projects’ management into power-sharing by engaging more than 200 women in total—from different regions of the country.
What if goodreads were as colorful as the literature?
Redesigning the goodreads app with a “themes” option
In the realm of literature, the conventional association of reading with me-time, nature, and tranquility has often inspired designs featuring hues of green and beige and their calming tones. However, literature itself is a vibrant spectrum, from the texts within books to their colorful covers. For my inaugural individual UX/UI design project at the Iron Hack BootCamp, I’ve opted to redesign the well-known native mobile app goodreads. This case study unfolds the journey of the vibrant “pop mode” I envisioned for goodreads.
gradmindfull: Empower your academic journey with like-minded people
Discover a holistic approach to student wellness that fosters productivity, creativity, and self-care within a supportive community — all within a single, intuitive iOS app tailored exclusively for students.
In today’s fast-paced world, where physical and mental well-being have gained paramount importance, the need for wellness apps is more apparent than ever. While many such apps offer guidance on exercise, sleep, and mindfulness, there’s a distinct gap when it comes to catering to the unique challenges faced by students. Enter gradmindfull: the all-in-one solution designed to help students relax, feel empowered, and succeed in their academic journey alongside like-minded peers. This case study unravels the story of my varied roles throughout the product design process, which I undertook for my solo UX/UI design project at the Iron Hack BootCamp.
Rediscovering Tranquility: Crafting a Digital Façade for El molí de Can Aulet
Engaging with Nature in UX/UI Design for Rural Tourism
Nestled in the serene embrace of Montseny, El molí de Can Aulet unfolds a story of tranquility, offering rustic cabins that whisper tales of nature’s beauty. Join us on a journey through the digital realms, as we reimagine the Mill’s (El molí de Can Aulet) online façade to echo the essence of “enjoy nature” and redefine rural tourism. This is the case study of our second group project assigned at the Iron Hack, Berlin-UX/UI Design bootcamp.
#SelectedPosts
Bir Oyun, Bir Hikâye, Bir Görsel Dil: Sultan’ın Dijital Kimliği
#ChronicleBuzzy: Yıllık Z Raporunun Instagram Carousel Post Hali
@muzede_drama 2024 Etkinlikleri: 1 Yıllık Takvimin Görselleştirilmesi
resume*
2022/23 Mercator-IPC Fellow at Sabancı University, Istanbul Policy Center, Sept 2022 – Aug 2023
Researcher at DaMigra e.V. (the Umbrella Organization of Migrant Women’s Self-Organizations in Germany), May 2019 – Sep 2022
Coordinator and Curator (Freelancer) at the Historical Museum Frankfurt, June 2014 – May 2023
Business Development Projects (Digital Marketing) at Pera Museum, Istanbul, Jan 2010 – Feb 2012
PhD | IGK—Berlin-New York, Toronto—Center for Metropolitan Studies, TU-Berlin, DFG Doctoral Fellow § TU Compilation Fellow, May 2015 – Feb 2021
Visiting Scholar | City University of New York, CUNY, Digital Humanities, DFG Fellow, Sept – Dec 2016
M.A. | Koç University, Istanbul, Anatolian Civilizations and Cultural Heritage Management, Koç University Fellow, Sept 2007 – Jan 2010
B.A. | Galatasaray University, Istanbul, Sociology, Sept 2003 – June 2007
scholarships
Mercator Stiftung – Istanbul Policy Center, Sabancı University, Fellowship, September 2022-August 2023
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Doctoral Research Fellowship, May 2015-April 2018
Vehbi Koç Foundation, Koç University, Anatolian Civilizations and Cultural Heritage Management, M.A. Program, Full Fellowship, 2007-2009
European Commission, Erasmus Exchange Program Fellowship, Sept. 2005- Feb. 2006
grants
DA BIN ICH: Ehe-unabhängiger Aufenthaltstitel für von häuslicher Gewalt betroffenen Migrant:innen (HERE I AM: Residence Permit Independent from the Husband for Migrant Women Affected by the Domestic Violence), Workshop with the Federal German Migrant Women’s Association, Frauenreferat Frankfurt, October – November, 2022
CAMOC Annual Conference, Travel Grant, 2023
Technische Universität Berlin, Doctoral Research Completion Grant, May – October 2018
CUNY (City University of New York)—Visiting Scholar, DFG-TU Berlin-IGK, September – December 2016
CAMOC Annual Conference, Travel Grant, CAMOC, 2019
CAMOC Annual Conference, Travel Grant, DFG-TU Berlin-IGK, 2015
tools
- Microsoft
- Google Workspace
- Slack
- Canva
- Figma
- Notion
- WordPRess
- InDesign
soft skills
- Digital culture passionate
- User-centric critical
- Solution-oriented
- Intellectually curious
- Thinking out of the box
- Persistent
Language Skills
- Turkish: Native
- English: Mastery
- German: Professional
- French: Professional
memberships
Müzecilik Meslek Kuruluşu Derneği (the Museum Professionals Association in Turkey), MMKD, Co-Founder
ICOM (the International Council of Museums), Independent Member
CAMOC (the International Committee for the Collections and Activities of Museums of Cities) / ICOM, Independent Member
certificates
WordPress Installation
UX/UI Design
MuseumPlus Grundlagen

































































