In addition to the academic and artistic exchange that I organized for the Forum ART IN TRANSIT as a Culture Specialist in UNESCO, I curated a series of pieces and artistic activities that seek to explore the concept and meanings of migration from different points of view. The art pieces also functioned as a vehicle to generate dialogue and exchanges regarding physical and geopolitical boundaries, as well as several imaginary boundaries. The pieces address the concept of borders, not as a barriers or divisions but as a possible point of articulation between actors.
METABANDERA
This piece by Marcos Castro seeks to reflect on the processes of migration and belonging. It consists of an animation made from embroidery on textile flags, in which the sequence of a bird in flight is shown and in each frame, the flag on which the bird is embroidered will change. At the same time a physical work of art is generated: a flag composed of all the flags of the animation; a “meta-flag” as a symbol of a “meta-homeland”. A homeland spanning several homelands. The installation had also a video piece: an animation of a flag in constant movement and transformation.
MARCOS CASTRO, Mexico City, Mexico, 1981. He is a Mexican artist who lives and works in Mexico, D.F. His work reflects on a fundamental act in art: the look. He integrates elements of his personal mythology and nature as silent testimonial symbols of contemporary society. His work is an exploration of the interactions between techniques and formats that include drawing, painting, scenic resources, installation, animation, video art and video installation. He positions the viewer to be vigilant in the face of their will to contemplation. He has been chosen for the official selection of the 2006 Tamayo Biennia, for the young Creators Fellowship FONCA 2007 and 2013, was selected for the residency, Artist in Residence at 18th Street Art Centre Los Angeles in 2008 and IMO NY, 2014.
SUELO FÉRTIL
This telematic improvisation created by Ximena Alarcón, is an invitation to cultivate a virtual dialogue of words, voices and sounds among migrant women in Mexico and the UK, which nourishes a fertile soil to inhabit migratory contexts.
Through a process of personal and collective reflection, via Internet, eight migrant women residing in Mexico, the United Kingdom, Austria and the United States, who have practiced Deep Listening for one-month, including listening to their dreams, memories, body and sur- rounding environment. In this way they have recognised the vast territories that they inhabit and how these connect with their inner being, transcending identities and the sense of belonging to a specific ‘place’, and listening to the rich complexity that is generated through space, time and memory in the migratory experience.
Using binaural sound and bi-directional audio, the telematic performance will connect two physical spaces via internet, Mexico City and London, from which the participants will share with the audience the spaces that they have discovered and creatively explore conditions for flow, breathing, and fertile expansion. Appropriating actions and sound spaces of uncertainty, certainty and risk, they will be accompanied by other women in the audience as a shared expression of the migratory condition.
Fertile Soil is part of the Forum “Arte en Tránsito” [Art in Transit] and commissioned by UNESCO Mexico, in collaboration with CRiSAP (Creative Research into Sound Arts Practice) - London College of Communication, the Center for Deep Listening (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy), Resonance FM, Soundjack, and the Centro Nacional de las Artes (CENART).
The improvisation was broadcasted via Resonance FM.
“DOS PERSONAS SE TOCAN BREVEMENTE” - STAGE PIECE
Translímite - Theatre Company
A documentary play that delves into migration, with the main story following Latin American migrants that climb onto the back of the number of freighters trains, known as “The Beast”, hoping to cross the Mexican territory and reach the other side to find a job to help them bring the families they left behind, or the family that left with them.
“The morning rises with scorching sun in the municipality of La Patrona, in Veracruz, the sound of furious machinery looming on the train tracks. A group of women led by the sisters Romero run hurriedly to the tracks to wait for the swift and dominant step of The Beast, that carries on its cars fatigue and the desire to seek a better life in another country. Within such an act “Two People touched briefly”, he will outstretch his migrant hands with hope to pick up food or a bottles of water. Being fast is key, to do the right thing is the mission. “
FIRMES - DOCUMENTARY SCREENING
FIRMES is a film by Lindsay Cordero and it is the story of the struggles and triumphs that a group of Mexican immigrants face fighting for survival in the Bronx. United by their love of art, culture and Mexican traditions that have formed strong ties and a strong community, they try to stay together and away from gang life, seeking to overcome past mistakes and lead to a legitimate existence in the tangled cityscape of New York City.
LINDSEY CORDERO was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco. As an anthropologist, her work focuses on issues including migration, survival and identity of irregular Mexicans living in New York. She worked as an additional soundperson and editor in the documentary Havana Motor Club, by Bent-Jorgen Perlmutt. This year she was recognized with the Honorable Film distinction of the Princess Grace Foundation for her debut feature, I’m Leaving Now. She currently works as co-producer of the independent film On the 7th Day, written and directed by Jim McKay.
