WE REFUGEES .FROM GOYA’S PEOPLE IN SACKS TO THE SPATIAL CONFIGURATION OF THE CAMPS A CARTOGRAPHY OF RESIDUAL SPACE

09 October 2019 - 10 October 2019
Based on some of the works on display in the We Refugees exhibition, the seminar addresses, through artistic and theoretical texts, a genealogy of the constitution of modern, contemporary space as a residual space, where displaced persons, dissidents, refugees or those considered a threat to the political-racial-social order are funnelled, contained and, in certain historical circumstances, even annihilated.

From the ambiguity of the open landscape of Francisco de Goya’s etching People in Sacks, to the enclosed and streamlined spaces of the camps set up for exiles after the Spanish Civil War and the extermination camps during World War II, the cartography of the camps, their zoning and automation, correspond to a political, ideological and military history that culminates in the camps of the displaced persons and refugees, from the partition of Palestine to the present moment; invisible and covert non-cities, excluded from the map of contemporary cities.

This also includes problem areas that, as the works in the exhibition show, affect transport systems, connections, institutions and services, social integration and disintegration, human trafficking, or the concept of borders of the nation-state.In this context, conflicts arise and new forms of coexistence emerge at the crossroads, forks and margins between different cultures, societies and economies; multiple and non-coincident, or borderline, consciences and experiences emerge, as the Russian philosopher and linguist Mikhail Bakhtin said, affecting affections, anthropological memory, and individual and collective languages and narratives.

METHODOLOGY

The seminar consists of two sessions:

SESSION 1. 9 OCTOBER from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Introduction and presentation.Visit of the exhibition, reading and selection of works.List of works with the texts provided as material, including authors such as Hannah Arendt, Giorgio Agamben, Michel Agier, Zygmunt Bauman, Wendy Brown, Achille Mbembe, Sami Naïr, Loretta Napoleoni, Claire Rodier and Eyal Weizman.

Projection of images.

Formation of groups and themes according to works by artists and authors.Reading and analysis in groups of 3 or 4 people with the material provided.Colloquium between the groups.

SESSION 2. 10 OCTOBER from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Work in groups of 3 or 4 people with theoretical texts.Colloquium between the groups.

The people registered will receive a dossier in advance including the We Refugees exhibition leaflet and the list of artists and topics addressed in the exhibition, as well as a selection of texts by various authors, which must be read prior to attending the seminar.

DURATION

6 hours

RECIPIENTS

The seminar is aimed at all people interested in the subject.

REGISTRATION

Anybody interested can register by sending an email to cgac.pedagogia@xunta.gal before 2 October.Applications must include the following information: full name, email address and phone number.In addition, applicants must indicate their work area and briefly explain why they are interested in the activity.

PLACES:16