Arts and Antiracism in post-migration societies
Arts and Antiracism in post-migration societies
December 11th 2020
An online scientific event hosted by the University of Padua, as part of the activities of:
DIVCULT
IMISCOE Standing Committee Superdiversity, Migration and Cultural Change
Do the arts have a role in socio-political mobilization? Can the arts be a tool for social and political change? These questions drive this session exploring the social and political relevance of popular arts in super-diverse cities. So far, several European and national research projects have mostly considered immigrants, racialized minorities as workers, underestimating their possibility to take part in politics in post-migration societies. The growing presence of ethnicized communities and their descendants in artistic contexts have called into question cultural and national identity.
How do the arts contribute to the construction of collective identities? How artistic expressions support social, political, and antiracist mobilization? Which practices do the artists put into action in order to resist racism and hegemonic discourses?
Despite interesting surveys have shed a light on immigrants and their descendants’ cultural live, there are still many research gaps in the literature on racialized minorities activism and cultural participation, and on their ways to tackle racism through the arts. A lack of empirical studies emerged on immigrant artists’ capacity to create counterstories that challenge dominant representations and the systematic invisibilization of racism in our societies. There have been very few studies conducted on antiracist practices put into action through artistic productions by artists from ethnicized communities, and on the latter power to mobilize people in order to promote social and racial justice.
This session aims to promote and create productive dialogue between artists and researchers working on antiracist practices and everyday experiences of racism. We are particularly interested in bringing together artists and researchers who have participated to collaborative projects focused on topics that include:
- Activism and arts: the work/performances of artists (especially from racialized communities) in urban contexts and socio-political mobilization.
- Specific antiracist practices in art contexts.
- Migrant descendants’ art practices questioning dominant understanding of nations, culture and belonging.
- Methodological questions related to qualitative, visual and participatory research processes.
