Migrant Bodies Project
Migrant Bodies develops a shared international research, focusing on identifying, developing and testing new and relevant actions for the inclusion of refugees and migrants with dance and movement based initiatives. The research brings together dance artists in Italy, Austria, Croatia and France, in dialogue with writers, filmmakers, organizations and associations which assist refugees, educational institutions, universities, members of the partner organizations, experts and citizens. Inclusive dance practices are being conceived and held for migrants and refugees within the communities they live in, enabling project participants to gain new skills and enrich their professional life, embracing new opportunities in working with migrants. Migrants and refugees are invited in dance classes, to events and performances, experiencing being part of a collective, and live a common experience with citizens, in theatres and artistic contexts.
Some activities involve children of second/third generations of migrants with the dance artists to create, the Moving Borders walks: guided tours reflecting their view point of the cities they live in. The walks are public events where citizens, migrant and refugees discover together the cities from new perspectives. Parallel to the dance activities and Moving Borders walks, stories of migrants are collected with audiovisual supports. They become part of an artistic exhibition/installation that accompanies the presentations of the project, and its results, at festivals and events, to promote respect and understanding for diversity, giving EU citizens the opportunity to discover, to learn and to understand the values and cultures of refugees/migrants and rediscover and enriching their own. A final international symposium and an online publication collect the documentation and the best and new practices identified. It supports the dissemination of the outcomes of the project across fields and territories beyond the life of the project.
The project is supported by the EU Creative Europe Programme