Friday 30th of January 2009

1st meeting - Artstation studio


Glenn, Alexis and Wyn to meet up every two weeks. This is the first of these meetings, held at Artstation (www.artstation.org.uk)

Glenn keen to bring ecological issues into the discussion.

Alexis concerned that this would take attention away from asylum seekers. Journalists would pick up on the idea of New Migrants, and this would somehow justify shifting attention away from Old Migrants. We don't want to be criticised by our "friends on the Left".

Also, Alexis feels that this would shift him from his field of expertise. An academic conference on Migration & Green Economics, for example, would soon be dominated by the ecology.

Need to find a balance.

The idea of re-defining terms in light of new threats, e.g. end of oil, climate warming, credit crunch, etc. Re-defining terms like asylum seeker, refugee, migrant, etc.

Alexis suggested New Migrants, Old Migrants? as a title for the conference. This could work alongside an art installation that would be more ecological in its focus, and would function as setting the ecological agenda for the conference. Everyone liked this idea.

Alexis played with the idea of trying to include Earth in the title, e.g. Migrants on the Earth, Migrants from the Earth. It probably sounds better in French. Emigres sur Terre, Emigres de Terre.

Spring 2010 mentioned as a possible date for the conference/installation to take place.

Art installation could include travelling to where there are ecological migrants. Then bring it to the attention of MEPs at Brussels. For example, the 800 mile long lake that has completely disappeared in Mali, displacing 10s of 1000s of people. Wyn likes the idea of a dried up lake, because it resonates with terms of excess back in the 1970s - the European milk lake, cheese mountain, etc.

TL: research on Mali Artist - Abdoulaye Konate:
http://www.artstation.org.uk/paperwork/agora/maliartist.htm



WM