Shipwreck of Dreams is a project that embarks on a journey in search of belonging, intertwining stories of migration through reimagining a little-known ancient myth about a wish-granting boat on Switzerland’s Lake Geneva.
The project traces and revisits the history of Autonome Schule, a Zurich-based, a self-organised school that emerged in 2008 from the alliance between migrants and activists in response to restrictive asylum laws. Since then, the school has become a political project against racism and social injustice. Its history has been shaped by the search for a (free) space where to belong, with squatting, relocations, and solidarity at its core.
Through collaborative paper-ship portraits, storytelling, photography, drawings, archival materials, moving images, and words, Shipwreck of Dreams uncovers the wisdom of the school’s interconnected perspectives as they converge at the crossroads of European migration policies.
Each story and image echoes the myth’s timeless promise of hope, inviting viewers to reflect on the complex realities of migration and community. By weaving the myth with the school’s lived journey, Shipwreck of Dreams presents a layered counter-narrative of resilience and the universal quest for home.
