The Ruhr-Area/Paris region have in common several waves of working migration, at the beginning of the 20th century from Poland or Italy, and in the 50s and 60s from Turkey or Algeria (to mention just a few). In the last years, lots of refugees from the Middle East, migrants from South-Eastern Europe or Sub Saharian Africa joined both societies.
This European story is an enormous source for biographical arts including literature, theatre, music, in relation to comparable cultures from “natives” from Germany or France. Many regions of Europe represent similar contexts, in Italy or the Netherlands for example.
Language, names, cultural diversity and also conflicts, misunderstandings and experiences of countless discussions and solution-processes can be used for artistic work by asking almost every single citizen.
KJT and Trans, designers of this output, have been working regularly with refugees since 2015. They even ran together 3 artistic workshops associating young refugees and migrants to young German and French natives (having themselves mixed origins most of the time) and also Italians and Portuguese (Trust workshops series).
This question arises from those experiences: how those young people and young adults may be part of the same society? What stories do they bring with them, what stories they may write together?
In times of Covid19, how can we explore those stakes using digital means? What methodology may conduct an artistic work-process based on portraying those youngsters and imagining a multicultural family portrait inspiring the future? How the intimacy of an online workshop may give the opportunity to hear not only obstacles but also wishes, hopes, dreams. How to make performing artwork out of it? And how to create space for interactive relation to the spectators online?
Migrations will be taken as a topic to illustrate how the methodology may create a space for a creative youth workgroup. But for the potential end-up users, the methodology will be described in order to be available to explore any key topic.
Designing partners: Exquorum Evora, La Transplanisphère Paris
Testing partner: Helios Theater Hamm