Art for Coexistence - Unlearning the Way We See Migration

An exploration of how contemporary art reframes and humanizes migration, calling for coexistence—the recognition of the interdependence of beings.

In Art for Coexistence, art historian Christine Ross examines contemporary art’s response to migration, showing that art invites us to abandon our preconceptions about the current “crisis”—to unlearn them—and to see migration more critically, more disobediently. We (viewers in Europe and North America) must come to see migration in terms of coexistence: the interdependence of beings. The artworks explored by Ross reveal, contest, rethink, delink, and relink more reciprocally the interdependencies shaping migration today—connecting citizens-on-the-move from some of the poorest countries and acknowledged citizens of some of the wealthiest countries and democracies worldwide. 
 
These installations, videos, virtual reality works, webcasts, sculptures, graffiti, paint