The project's title, "Shout, Sister, Shout!", is taken from a song recorded in 1942 by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. American singer born in 1915, daughter of Arkansas cotton pickers, was excluded from society on many levels: as a black person, as a bisexual, and as a woman, at a time when it was difficult to be any of them.

Sung by her in a powerful voice "Shout, Sister, Shout!" is more than just a song. It's an anthem that calls to action and is a praise of open speaking, unfettered self-expression and daring to break social barriers; a celebration of strength and individuality. Tharpe encourages to use the female voice as a weapon of change.

Addressing to this message, Kronika Centre for Contemporary Art is undertaking the "Shout, Sister, Shout!" project, consisting of art residencies, workshops and creative activities. Its conclusion is an exhibition of artistic works designed as an educational tool and a publication. The exhibition, in its theoretical premise, refers to the history of Bytom women who, under National Socialism, were robbed of everything, deprived of their dignity and humanity, and in the end were also deprived of their right to live - the last pre-war owners of the tenement house at 26 Market Square, Kathe Cohn and Friederike Marianne Guttman. Today, their former home houses the Kronika Centre for Contemporary Art.

By following their previously unknown lives, we give them a voice that has been taken away. At the same time, we look at the stories of contemporary women, excluded from society in various ways in the 21st century. By showing the mechanisms and effects of systematic oppression motivated by hatred of diversity, we want to awaken critical thinking and social awareness. Several decades after the Holocaust, societies no longer learn from history, are incapable of interpreting it and keep repeating the same mistakes. By relating the present to past events in the "Shout, Sister, Shout!" project, we ask difficult questions about individual and collective responsibility and the importance of active civic participation. We point out patterns of actions that can create danger for excluded groups, pay attention to how they translate into the condition of society as a whole, and inquire how historical, social, religious, political or economic factors can destroy and disintegrate democratic values and human rights.

“Shout, Sister, Shout!" project was supported by the EVZ Foundation (Stiftung Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft) as part of the “Local History" program.

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Publication summarizing the project 

Events accompanying the exhibition "Shout, Sister, Shout!"