Immigrant Movement International: Open Call For Submissions

Immigrant Movement International: Open Call For Submissions
Global Action for International Migrants Day on December 18

www.immigrant-movement.us/december18
www.creativetime.org
www.queensmuseum.org

Immigrant Movement International (IM International), an ongoing project initiated by artist Tania Bruguera and co-presented by Creative Time and the Queens Museum of Art, today announced an open call for submissions for actions that will take place on December 18, 2011, designated “International Migrants Day” by the United Nations. The organizers call on artists, immigrants, activists, and interested members of the public to stage an action on December 18, 2011 at 2pm local time in recognition of the concept of transnational migrants as a “global class” united across continents and cultures by common political and social conditions, as well as by the human experience of being a migrant. By engaging participants across the globe in a UN-endorsed project, the organizers hope to promote understanding of the specificity of local migration issues and the political interconnectedness across nations and regions that migration engenders.

“As migration becomes a more central element of contemporary existence, the status and identity of those who live outside their place of origin starts to become defined not by sharing a common language, class, culture, or race, but instead by their condition as immigrants,” said Bruguera, whose project was initiated in Corona, Queens in January 2011.

Individuals and groups from around the world are invited to participate by visiting www.immigrant-movement.us/december18 and submitting an idea for an action—for example, a public performance, panel discussion, or community gathering—to take place on December 18 at 2pm local time. The website will enable users to track these actions as they happen in real time across the globe by presenting an interactive map of the world with a description of each action. Confirmed participants to date include: Pedro Reyes (Mexico City), Chto Delat (St. Petersburg), Ghana Think Tank (New York), Oliver Ressler and Martin Krenn (Vienna), Polibio Díaz (Santo Domingo), Monali Meher (Amsterdam), Situations + Nowhereisland (London), Dora García (Barcelona), Khaled Jarrar (Palestine), Mizuki Endo (Japan), Lauren Berlant (Chicago), Haim Soko and Ekaterina Lazareva (Moscow), Vit Havranek and Tranzit (Prague), and Ruby Chishti (Pakistan), as well as artists in Rome, Copenhagen, Basel, Zagreb and other cities around the world.

“What does it mean to represent the contemporary immigrant? And furthermore, what are the forms of governance for a global citizenry? These questions are at the heart of Tania Bruguera’s Immigrant Movement International,” said Nato Thompson, Chief Curator of Creative Time.

In addition to mobilizing members of the global public to perform an action on December 18, IM International will also provide a “Migrant Manifesto,” which will be made available on the IM website for participants to incorporate into their actions on December 18. The document was produced by immigration academics, activists, politicians and community members at a weekend convening at the IM International headquarters on November 4th and 5th.

“Given the migrations that have brought 167 different languages to Queens, we are reminded every day of the contributions, sacrifices and experiences of our diverse group of friends, staff members, and visitors,” said Tom Finkelpearl, Executive Director of the Queens Museum of Art. “We are particularly proud to be involved in a project related to the International Day of the Migrant, given the fact that the United Nations General Assembly met in our building in the late 1940s. That was a great moment for international exchange, as is a walk through almost any Queens community today.”

Additional information about the International Migrants Day/December 18 global action, as well as a downloadable PDF of the “Migrant Manifesto,” will be available throughout Fall 2011 at: www.immigrant-movement.us/december18.

Immigrant Movement International
108-59 Roosevelt Avenue
Queens,‎ NY‎ 11368
Phone: 718 424 6502
E-mail: united@immigrant-movement.us