Arts and Borders

Migration flows and the high mobility of populations brought about by the process of globalization have led to a more critical examination of the issue of borders, highlighting the need to develop new forms of reflection—political, social, and cultural alike.
Many studies of borders or practices fostering border dialogues have been approached through artistic methods, involving forms of community mobilization via tools that unleash creativity, largely led by artists. Studies on diasporic movements, studies on the living conditions of migrants in initial reception centers—works that are often not published as scientific studies because they are identified more as artistic practices of social engagement—but precisely for this reason, they often succeed in fostering trust and a sense of closeness among those involved, thereby gathering materials and documentation that are invaluable for understanding these phenomena and the lived experiences underlying them.

This session aims at creating a discussion around these issues and see how sociology can recover new insights from the activity of arts at borders.