The Beast – Opening

with Pablo Allison (MX/GB), Jan Glin (CZ) and Simone Ferrarini (IT)

The documentary exhibition “The Beast” follows in the footsteps of refugees who use freight trains as a means of transportation through Europe and Latin America.

Pablo Allison traveled together with Latin American migrants on the “Bestia”. The “Bestia” is not a single freight train. “Bestia” describes freight train routes that cross Mexico. The routes run from south to north, with migrants traveling a dangerous path through areas of influence of different cartels.
Allison documented the long journey which, despite its dangers, gives hope to many migrants who see no future in their home country. They are often terrorized there by criminal gangs or are unable to find work.

Czech graffiti writer Jan Glín accidentally discovered documents belonging to a migrant while traveling on a Czech freight train. His astonishment at the documents and his curiosity drove him to travel parts of the Balkan route together with refugees on and in freight trains. Jan Glín’s journey ended for him at a railroad police station in Serbia.
He published his encounters and experiences of the journey in the publication “Riding the Beast of Europe”.

Simone Ferrarini from the artist collective Collettivo FX from Reggio Emilia draws large-format drawings of refugees on freight trains. The group wants to visually draw attention to the problems of the life-threatening route over the Brenner Pass. The collective’s numerous drawings and murals also deal with the dangerous routes taken by African migrants to Europe.

Empathy for the refugees and the desire to draw attention to the inhumane treatment of refugees drove the artists to realize their works and present them to the public.

In the Dresden exhibition The Beast, the three positions will be presented together for the first time.
As part of the exhibition, there will be a guided tour of Dresden’s migration stories , workshop offers , a public talk and a KÜche Für Alle, or KÜFA for short.