Transforming Migration by Arts

ongoing

Migrant numbers are increasing all the time across the world and especially since 2014 in Europe. For different reasons, human mobilities have become one of the major challenges of the 21st century. Beyond the legal, political, sociological and psychological aspects, the vulnerable situation of individuals who have left their country of origin is a given that can be explored from the field of art. We believe that performing arts can contribute to transforming and improving the modes of existence of migrants in vulnerable situations in the receiving country or countries. The TransMigrArts project (14 partners) intends to set up a Spanish-speaking network of researchers, artists/researchers and cultural enterprises spanning Europe and Latin America. We will use an applied research-creation methodology to observe, assess and model socially innovative artistic workshops where the target communities are integrated as stakeholders. Thus, TransMigrArts will establish an observation and assessment methodology of the existing artistic dispositive, focussing mainly on Colombian practices. A tool will be devised to assess the impact of the artistic workshops that have a transforming effect on migrants’ vulnerable situations, aiming to compare practices. Secondly, analysis of the existing dispositive will lead to the proposal of prototype workshops, geared to more specific communities (ex. asylum seekers). These various proposals will be implemented in conjunction with organisations that work with migrants to spread the research-creation results. Through this project, we will prove that the arts, complementary to other approaches, bring societal innovation and are likely to accord wide-ranging knowledge. The project’s longer-term aim is to stimulate the establishment of an international community around applied research-creation by spreading and using the research and innovation results in a variety of socioeconomic and cultural sectors.