Arts and Refugees: Multidisciplinary Perspectives

A special issue of Arts (ISSN 2076-0752).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2018) | Viewed by 31649

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Special Issue Editor

Director of Centre d’Etudes de l'Ethnicité et des Migrations (CEDEM), Faculty of Social Sciences, Liège University (Belgium), Bâtiment 31 boîte 24 Quartier Agora - Place des orateurs, 3, Sart-Tilman, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Interests: immigrants; ethnic minorities; social mobilization; political participation; arts; music; multiculturalism
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The issue examines the relevance of artistic practices in current debates about the integration of de facto refugees in Europe and also in the actual integration of refugee artists in the social fabric and in the artistic scene. Papers looking at the role of arts (music, theater, literature, etc.) in the solidarity movements in favour of refugees in European cities are welcome. Papers examining the trajcteory of  refugee artists and their strategies in order to claim a position in their new society and their artistic scenes are also searched for. The papers can come from different disciplines and different theoretical perspectives (social movement theories, social mobilisation theories and cultural participation theories), preferably with a compartive dimension.

Dr. Marco Martiniello
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Arts is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • refugees
  • asylum seekers
  • arts
  • music
  • rights
  • mobilization

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 156 KiB  
Editorial
Introduction to the Special Issue “Arts and Refugees: Multidisciplinary Perspectives”
by Marco Martiniello
Arts 2019, 8(3), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts8030098 - 05 Aug 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2386
Abstract
Even though the percentage of migrants and refugees in the world has remained relatively stable over the past few decades, in recent years, public debate on this matter has become increasingly sensitive and politicized [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arts and Refugees: Multidisciplinary Perspectives)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

17 pages, 2805 KiB  
Article
Harnessing Visibility and Invisibility through Arts Practices: Ethnographic Case Studies with Migrant Performers in Belgium
by Shannon Damery and Elsa Mescoli
Arts 2019, 8(2), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts8020049 - 04 Apr 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4082
Abstract
This paper endeavors to understand the role of arts in migration-related issues by offering insights into the different ways in which artistic practices can be used by migrants and investigating migrants’ differing objectives in participating in the arts. Through the exploration of the [...] Read more.
This paper endeavors to understand the role of arts in migration-related issues by offering insights into the different ways in which artistic practices can be used by migrants and investigating migrants’ differing objectives in participating in the arts. Through the exploration of the initiatives of undocumented and refugee migrants involved in artistic groups in Belgium, this paper compares the motivations of the performers and concludes that art can operate as an empowering tool for migrants as it constitutes a space for agency, notwithstanding the specific scope of which it is contextually charged. It allows migrants to render themselves visible or invisible, depending on their contrasting motivations. The creative productions of the first group, composed by members of “La Voix des sans papiers de Liège”, a collective of undocumented migrants, corresponds to an explicit effort of political engagement in the local context. The other examples are of undocumented and refugee artists joining musical groups with no specific aim of promoting the cause of undocumented and refugee persons. The choice to be involved in such groups highlights their desire to be, in some ways, invisible and anonymous while participating in this collective of artists. Through these examples, we see that art offers opportunities for migrants to actively participate in the socio-cultural and political environment in which they reside and to claim various forms of official and unofficial belonging whether it occurs through visibility or invisibility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arts and Refugees: Multidisciplinary Perspectives)
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25 pages, 4761 KiB  
Article
Artists from Syria in the International Artworld: Mediators of a Universal Humanism
by Cristina Cusenza
Arts 2019, 8(2), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts8020045 - 29 Mar 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6967
Abstract
With the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011, many artists left as part of a massive migratory flow out of the country. Other artists had already migrated because of perceived constraints to art-making due to censorship and lack of professional opportunities. Both [...] Read more.
With the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011, many artists left as part of a massive migratory flow out of the country. Other artists had already migrated because of perceived constraints to art-making due to censorship and lack of professional opportunities. Both waves of migration converged in artistic hubs throughout the Middle East and Europe. From the interviews I carried out with visual artists from Syria displaced in London and other locations, it emerged that they faced a shared dilemma. Many wished to move away from politics focusing on universal themes like human suffering, which in the Syrian art-scene were perceived to be apolitical. In exile, however, it is precisely these themes that marked their works as political in the eyes of agents of the artworld and international audiences. I argue that this politicization is a form of essentialization and homogenization of the Syrian art-scene abroad, for categorizing these artists as ‘Syrian’ or ‘Middle Eastern’ flattens their individual creativity by placing them within a national or regional category. This form of ‘othering’ is rooted in the history of Western colonialism in the Middle East and postcolonial geopolitics and power relations structuring the Syrian conflict and Western perceptions of it. I show how my informants attempt to overcome these constraints by employing the discursive register of universalism, while often organizing their lives around the ‘Syrian artist’ category. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arts and Refugees: Multidisciplinary Perspectives)
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16 pages, 1222 KiB  
Article
Refugees for Refugees: Musicians between Confinement and Perspectives
by Hélène Sechehaye and Marco Martiniello
Arts 2019, 8(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts8010014 - 16 Jan 2019
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4733
Abstract
Driven by the solidarity movements following the “refugee crisis” of 2015, the Brussels-based non-profit organization Muziekpublique, specialized in the promotion of so-called “world music”, initiated the Refugees for Refugees project. This album and performance tour featured traditional musicians who had found asylum in [...] Read more.
Driven by the solidarity movements following the “refugee crisis” of 2015, the Brussels-based non-profit organization Muziekpublique, specialized in the promotion of so-called “world music”, initiated the Refugees for Refugees project. This album and performance tour featured traditional musicians who had found asylum in Belgium and had artistic, political, and social goals. In comparison to the other projects conducted by the organization, each step of the project benefited from exceptional coverage and financial support. At the same time, the association and the musicians were facing administrative, musical, and ethical problems they had never encountered before. Three years after its creation, the band Refugees for Refugees is still touring the Belgian and international scenes and is going to release a new album, following the will of all actors to go on with the project and demonstrating the important social mobilization it aroused. Through this case study, we aim at questioning the complexity of elaborating a project staging a common identity of “refugees” while valuing their diversity; understanding the reasons for the exceptional success the project has encountered; and determining to what extent and at what level it helped—or not—the musicians to rebuild their lives in Belgium. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arts and Refugees: Multidisciplinary Perspectives)
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13 pages, 2581 KiB  
Article
Ten Years of Participatory Cinema as a Form of Political Solidarity with Refugees in Italy. From ZaLab and Archivio Memorie Migranti to 4CaniperStrada
by Annalisa Frisina and Stefania Muresu
Arts 2018, 7(4), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts7040101 - 06 Dec 2018
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5036
Abstract
This paper introduces the context of European mobilizations for and against refugees and how participatory cinema has become a way of expressing political solidarity with refugees in Italy. We present and discuss ten years of the artistic work of ZaLab and Archivio Memorie [...] Read more.
This paper introduces the context of European mobilizations for and against refugees and how participatory cinema has become a way of expressing political solidarity with refugees in Italy. We present and discuss ten years of the artistic work of ZaLab and Archivio Memorie Migranti and focus on two film projects of 4CaniperStrada. Central to the production of participatory cinema in Italy is challenging the mainstream narrative of migration through the proactive involvement of asylum seekers, with their political subjectivity, by using a self-narrative method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arts and Refugees: Multidisciplinary Perspectives)
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14 pages, 211 KiB  
Article
Theater against Borders: ‘Miunikh–Damaskus’—A Case Study in Solidarity
by Ruba Totah and Krystel Khoury
Arts 2018, 7(4), 90; https://doi.org/10.3390/arts7040090 - 27 Nov 2018
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3211
Abstract
In 2017, the City Theater of Munich engaged with a policy of diversity, and decided to include Syrian artists and create the Open Border Ensemble. A German and Syrian refugee and non-refugee cast produced the first performance, “Miunikh–Damaskus: Stories of one city” (May [...] Read more.
In 2017, the City Theater of Munich engaged with a policy of diversity, and decided to include Syrian artists and create the Open Border Ensemble. A German and Syrian refugee and non-refugee cast produced the first performance, “Miunikh–Damaskus: Stories of one city” (May 2018). This mobile play aimed at minimizing stereotypes and deconstructing essentialist cultural identity prejudices. The paper examines how, in this case study, multilayered artistic strategies and relational dynamics came together to implement a ‘third space’. It addresses the challenges and implications of such theater endeavors regarding solidarity and the representation of the figure of the artists within the realm of the migration and refugee discourse. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Arts and Refugees: Multidisciplinary Perspectives)
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