Art for Coexistence: Unlearning the Way We See Migration

“At this time of divisive differentiation, how might contemporary artists contribute to the creation of the coeval community that the world so urgently needs? Christine Ross boldly takes up this question at its sharpest point: the worldwide “migration crisis” in which coexistence is cruelly denied and acutely felt. Key works by Banksy, Isaac Julien, John Akomfrah, Tanya Bruguera, Olu Oguibe, Forensic Oceanography, Ai Weiwei, Kader Attia, Candice Breitz, Stan Douglas, Kent Monkman, and several others are convincingly read as exemplary demonstrations of what it is to “unlearn colonization,” as potent calls for empathy, and as modeling aspects of a more mutual coexistence.”—Terry Smith, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory, University of Pittsburgh; Professor in the Division of Philosophy, Art, and Critical Thought, European Graduate School; and author of Art to Come: Histories of Contemporary Art. “With an emphasis on coexistence, varying worldviews, and art-as-a-call-to-listen, Christine Ross addresses one of the greatest emergencies of our time: migration, our concepts about which must be “unlearned.” Ross’s extraordinary analyses are vitally important to understand if we are to move forward productively.”—Santiago Zabala, ICREA Research Professor of Philosophy at Pompeu Fabra University and author of Why Only Art Can Save Us and Being at Large “An invaluable and compelling conceptual road map to art and migration theories. Ross displays an appreciable finesse in her analysis of the rationales behind forced displacement and she manages to avoid the empathetic vulnerability trope often associated with migrants to revisit migration experiences via the lens of art. A rare and necessary approach.”—Marie Ruiz, Associate Professor, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, co-editor of Art & Migration: Revisioning  the Borders of Community with Bénédicte Miyamoto