Constellations Intermediterranean Gazes

From the Roman limes to today’s globalized world, borders may simultaneously play the role of bridge and barrier. Wanderings, nomadisms, pilgrimages, invasions, exiles, and colonization have turned the history of mankind into a history of migrations. Nowadays, the migration phenomena continue its course in its most tragic version. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the year 2019 ended with more than 1,200 migrants dying in the Mediterranean Sea and 110,000 arrivals to Europe, which is the sixth consecutive year of massive arrivals.

Convinced of the role of the image as a vehicle for transformation, Constellations wants to support and promote emerging young creation by providing a space for reflection as it imagines, creates, and enriches itself with new forms of cultural hybridization. Through a format of artistic residencies, virtual meetings, traveling exhibitions, and cultural actions, the project aims to help create bridges between the various identities and territories that make up the Euroregion, establishing new points of reflection that have emerged through the artistic and cultural exchange in terms of migration and borders. Constellations also want to promote the virtual format as a normalizing fact in the current context of the health crisis.

PHASES OF THE PROJECT

1) Artistic residency

Through this call, two young artists will be selected to develop a project on the theme mentioned in one of the two proposed artistic residencies, led by the associations Lumière d'Encre and Es Far Cultural, located in Ceret (Occitania) and Es Mercadal (Menorca) respectively. Each of them, lasting one month, will take place during the spring-summer period of 2021 (see specific dates for each center). Each project will be personal and independent from the other selected artist. During the residency, artists will have at least one meeting with the local public to share their creative process.

2) Virtual meetings

Given the incipient digitization of the artistic content because of the health context, we believe it appropriate to use the virtual space as a platform for communication and debate between artists through 2 open virtual meetings, where they will talk about topics such as the creative process, the conceptualization of their work or the link between identity and territory, among others. Through the sharing of the creative experience of each artist, we want new reflections to emerge around the topics covered, giving rise to new ideas for formalizing the work for the next stage of the exhibition. The virtual actions will be moderated by Jiser association and will be open to the public and broadcast live through the Zoom platform.

3) Face-to-face actions at FotoLimo

This stage establishes the interconnection between the works of the resident artists at the Fotolimo Festival, which will take place in the villages of Colera, Portbou, and Cerbère during the second half of September 2021.

This stage establishes the interconnection between the works of the two artists through a collective and itinerant exhibition. This activity will be linked to others such as round tables and workshops aimed at local schools and/or institutes.

With the aim of establishing intermediate Mediterranean bridges beyond the Euroregional area, an exhibition of the Collective220 will be included. Since 2014, this project brings together several Algerian photographers with the desire to photograph realities in a personal and subjective way, telling stories and bringing new perspectives to today’s Algeria. At the same time, there will be a presentation of the exhibition and a round table with the presence of one of its members, moderated by Jiser.

4) Traveling exhibition

Later, the exhibition will move to Es Mercadal, Minorque, as part of the Menorca Doc Fest (October 29 to November 1, 2021) and, finally, to the Lumière d’Encre Gallery in Ceret at the beginning of 2021.