Museum of Human-Hunting
ROBIN / 2019 - 2025
Concept & Artistic direction Thomas Bellinck Concept inspired by Grégoire Chamayou’s ‘Manhunts: A Philosophical History’ Dramaturgy Reza Adib, Esther Severi Interpreting Reza Adib, Yasmine Bhar, Hayfa Ghozzi, Rym Haddad, Pafsanias Karathanasis, Amal Rouissi, Georgia Spyropoulou, Aisha Zaied Pictures Pol Guillard, Leonard Pongo, Stef Stessel Production management Kaat Balfoort, Sara Oklobdzija, Aisha Zaied Production Dhouha Abdelghani, Yalena Kleidara, Francesca Pinder Research & Production assistance Mouna Djobbi, Hayfa Ghozzi, Pafsanias Karathanasis, Bilel El Mekki, Amal Rouissi, Georgia Spyropoulou, Laurien Versmissen Set Mohamed Mezghiche, Fethi Mouelhi Graphic design Belhassen Chtioui Sound engineering & editing Pierre-Alexandre Lampert, Lars Morren, Emiel Redant, Johannes Ringoot Technical direction Arthur de Vuyst, Mich Belkhir Technique Sabri Atrous, Mondher Ben Abdallah Text Reza Adib, Samaneh Arian, Aristotle, Ghassen Ayari, Thomas Bellinck, Rihab Chaabane, Farouk El Ouerghi, Karima Ganji, Parisa Heidari, Chamseddine Marzoug, Mounir, Fatemeh Mousavi, Mohammad Javad Mousavi, Racist Violence Recording Network, Marwen Sammoud, Ervin Shehu, Yiouli Vitou, Ghazi Weld El Ka, Abir Zarrouki Transcription Samia Amami, Sana Chamekh, Farideh Ghalandari, Mira Hamdi, Cyrine Ben Ismail, Yalena Kleidara Translation & Subtitles Yasmine Akrimi, Amal Boualga, Mahdieh Fahimi, Farbod Fathinejad, Welid Hmeissia, Jodie Hruby, Haythem Khamri, Yalena Kleidara, Marwa Manai, Juliane Regler, Mona Silavi, Marouane Zaghouani Voices Reza Adib, Ghassen Ayari, Thomas Bellinck, Farouk El Ouerghi, Parisa Heidari, Chamseddine Marzoug, Mounir, Mohammad Javad Mousavi, Edoardo Ripani, Ervin Shehu, Yaël Steinmann, Jeroen Van der Ven, Yiouli Vitou, Ghazi Weld El Ka, Abir Zarrouki, pupils from the 5th Grade of the 28th Elementary School of Athens
Thanks to Halima Aissa, Ifigeneia Anastasiadi, Dimitris Angelidis, Katia Arfara, Marc Bernardot, Kristien Borgers, Hassen Boubakri, Sana Bousbih, An Breugelmans, Dimitris Christopoulos, Ismael Cissé, Bert De Puydt, Dimitra Dernikou, Béatrice Dunoyer, Adnen El Ghali, Omar Fassatoui, Apostolis Fotiadis, Jan Goossens, Jawhar, Lobna Jlassi, Ebia Joel, Aida Jridi, Wafa Kanzari, Andrea Kränzlin, Habib Labidi, Malek Lakhal, Mostfa Lakhdher, Lorena Lando, Leon Konda Ler, Mohsen Lihidheb, Mahdi Mabrouk, Jalel Mahmoudi, Ahmed Mansour, Brigitte Marin, Fatma Mathlouthi, Yonus Mohamed, Selma Ouissi, Sofiane Ouissi, Nikos Palaiologos, Kostis Papaioannou, Lefteris Papagiannakis, Clio Papapantoleon, Stéphanie Poussel, Zouheir Raies, Fanny Robles, Orestis Seferoglou, Eleni Spathana, Isabel Mohedano Sohm, Imed Soltani, Celine van der Poel, Hamma Weld Hamida et al.
© Leonard Pongo
What if we were to build a human-hunting museum? What would it look like and who would we encounter there?
Just like the hunting of other animal species, the hunting of humans by other humans is an age-old custom – from the hunting of so-called ‘slaves’, ‘natives’, ‘heretics’, ‘witches’ or ‘vagabonds’ to the tracing, capturing and expulsion of people branded as ‘irregular migrants’. The ‘Museum of Human-Hunting’ unravels present-day practices of human-hunting within the context of the European Union’s border policies, which promote international freedom of movement for some, while making it illegal for others.
The Tunis edition (2019) was created in collaboration with L’Art Rue / Dream City. Based on their intimate knowledge of dynamics of human-hunting, experts from around the Mediterranean were invited to each contribute the audio description of one inexistent painting to the museum’s hunting gallery. In Arabic, Farsi, French and Greek, their voices guided visitors around the all-too-real images etched on their retinas.
The Antwerp edition (2022) was part of the group exhibition Radically Naive / Naively Radical at Kunsthal Extra City. Set up in a former Dominican Church, it focussed on the hunting toolbox of the EU border regime. Since 2015, Thomas Bellinck has held conversations with so-called ‘border managers’, people who work at various EU institutes and agencies. The original audio recordings of these conversations are not permitted to be released. In the church’s confessional boxes, visitors became eavesdropping witnesses to re-enactments of these discussions.
For the Munich edition (2025), created for Münchner Kammerspiele, the museum’s existing collection will enter into dialogue with new material co-created in the city of Munich.
Production by ROBIN. Coproduced by a.o. L’Art Rue / Dream City (TN), Kaaitheater, Kunstenfestivaldesarts & Kunsthal Extra City (BE), Münchner Kammerspiele (DE), Onassis Cultural Centre / Fast Forward festival (GR). With the support of Ambassade de Suisse, Département fédéral des affaires étrangères (DFAE), Division Coopération Internationale (DCI), The Flemish Community of Brussels, The Flemish Government, The I-Portunus mobility programme, KASK / School of Arts HoGent, LabexMed / Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l'Homme (Marseille), the Municipality of the city of Tunis
© Stef Stessel
© Pol Guillard
