Public Interface - Wolkom yn it Heitelân/intro

Introduction

Wolkom yn it Heitelân (Welcome to the land of our fathers) is a project of Public Interface. Our motivation to organize this project derives from the question whether art can contribute to the conception of a greater consciousness of the injustice in the social community. Can art intentionally be used as a method to implement changes in society?

The European control on migration takes on vast proportions. Human rights are being violated on a large scale. Is it possible for an artist to direct attention to this issue without losing his own open attitude, and by doing so, is he able to create an interval that will enable improvements to be made?

With this theme in mind we will attempt to demystify the topics of cultural identity and migration. We will work together with professionals from different areas of expertise. The artists Jonas Staal, Katarina Zdjelar, Misja Immink, Iratxe Jaio and Klaas van Gorkum are invited to respond to these topics. They will be developing their own proposal during the duration of project Wolkom yn it Heitelân. We are interested in the individual approaches to the issues at hand and how this will translate to the final concept and the artists’ visual interpretation.

The context:

The control of migration is a hot topic on the political agenda in Europe. As a geographical and economical unit, Europe is firmly bordered off from the rest of the world. It is proving to be an impregnable fortress. Since the policies on preventing migrants to come into Europe are becoming stricter, migrants are forced to use extremely dangerous routes in order to enter Europe. Within a time span of 10 year, 8800 refugees have perished while journeying to Europe. Many current immigrants are searching for a better life. They typically come from a background of blatant oppressive politics and strict hierarchic structures with no chance of economic progression and therefore, poverty. While money flows freely across borders through accepted channels, the so-called fortune seekers have to overcome unbearable obstacles to be able to achieve the same.

A growing notion that migration should be stopped in order to oppose the unstable economic situation in Europe has taken hold since the early 90’s. Although we live in a period of globalisation, the common mind-set amongst Europeans might be that national profits should only be serving the original inhabitants. Foreign policy is mostly organized to protect Western prosperity. Financial aid to the Third World countries does not seem to be sufficient to fundamentally reduce the causes of their economic impediment.

Confronted with these facts we consider how the current state of events reflects the democratic values underlying Western society. Is our selective closed border policy in line with our democratic model? What is the reason why European citizens are not being prepared to embrace the inevitable changes in cultural diversity? How many people are willing to fundamentally question their own cultural identity in order to see themselves as true cosmopolitans? Isn’t it critical to challenge existing ideas about ones own cultural identity in order to better fit our globalizing society? Possibly, the true challenge emerges from the difficulty to deconstruct a local identity and reassemble it to converge with a visionary, global society.

To question old traditions and cultural standards is not in agreement with the current fashion of re-nationalising politics. When the focus is limited to maintaining ones own cultural and financial status, it leaves no room for change or empathy with the new cultural transformation.

The project: Wolkom yn it Heitelân will be located in Friesland, a province which cradles its local cultural heritage. Friesland is a province which has a reputation for being self-contained, conservative and slightly xenophobic. You may think, therefore, that the Frisians are not very keen on influences from other cultures. On the contrary, in the last years, they have embraced their foreign visitors with warm hospitality. In Friesland, there was much opposition against the plans of former minister for Immigration Verdonk, when she introduced stricter measures for deportation of asylum seekers whose appeal was denied. Also, there was a famous incident in which many asylum seekers on the brink of being extradited, were welcomed to find refuge in Frisian centres. The Frisian community has generally shown support and compassion for these people in need. From the 80’s onwards there have been more centres for asylum seekers in Friesland then anywhere else in the Netherlands. Initially, this was regarded with a lot of scepticism and contempt, but once the refugees had arrived, they were quickly integrated into the Frisian communities. The small size of the population in Friesland did not allow the refugees to become anonymous; they had to be regarded as people and guests.

The Frisian people have an ancient, proud and righteous culture. They admire characteristics like honesty and soberness. In dealing with foreign migrants they have used this unique distinctiveness to make a stand for the human rights of the migrants in their care. But to what level can aspects from other cultures really influence and integrate that proud Frisian culture? Is there willingness to eventually mix symbols, eating habits, social conduct and other culturally indicated characteristics?

In Buro Leeuwarden we will create a perfect condition to give people of different areas of expertise an opportunity to discuss and reflect upon their visions of cultural identity and migration, within the context of Friesland. We will guide these meetings by interviewing guest speakers before a live audience. On Wednesday and Saturday evenings there will be ‘meet and greet’- sessions open for debate and information from 17.30 to 22.00 hour.

Visitors will be treated to a ‘Trans-National’ welcome dinner, in which we shall combine typical Frisian dishes with recipes from those foreign countries where most migrants in Friesland originate from. During these dinners you will have the opportunity to listen to invited guest speakers. Our speakers are chosen from a wide area of expertise to ensure an interesting evening, ranging from a left-wing activist to a professor in Frisian language and culture, from a resident of a centre for asylum seekers to a member of STINS (an organization for social integration). Depending on the theme we will address either local or global issues.

We feel it is necessary to start a think-tank like our project Wolkom yn it Heitelân, because too often the discussion on cultural identity and migration is dominated by feelings, not by facts. Therefore, we are looking for ways to gather information and knowledge in order to further propagate these facts into society. Art may well be the appropriate vehicle to stimulate people to think and raise general awareness to help resolve these issues.

Comments (23)

Artistic Director, Labor Art & Mural Project
written by Mike Alewitz, March 14, 2008

Greetings

By way of introduction, I direct the community based mural program at Central CT State University, and am interested in getting more information about attending your event.

Much of my own work focuses on the defense of immigrant workers and international solidarity. I have painted in Palestine, Nicaragua, Belfast, Chernobyl, Mexico, Iraq and throughout the US. I am VERY interested in your initiative.

You can find more about my work in "Insurgent Images: The Agitprop Murals of Mike Alewitz," Monthly Review Press, by Paul Buhle.

Thanks! I look forward to hearing from you

Regards

Mike Alewitz

Labor Art & Mural Project
c/o Art Department
Central CT University
New Britain, CT 06050

PH: 860-518-4046

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