On Media@LSE, London School of Economics and Political Science, based in London, UK, Pierluigi Musarò's working paper has recently been published. It is entitled 'Performing metaphors into a physical space. The role of participatory theater in promoting social coexistence between citizens and newcomers' and it analyses the creative work that Cantieri Meticci, one of the Italian partners of Atlas of Transitions, performs with migrants and newcomers in Bologna, Italy.
The paper can be downloaded from LSE's platform - here, its abstract:
Picture by Paolo Lo Debole
Negative portrayals of migrants shown by media not only neglect reporting the impact of migration on communities. They are also transformed into outsiders and different to Europeans, subjects and objects of fear, experiencing the fear of being rejected, and inspiring fear in the resident populations. While discussing the link between media logic, theatrical performance and moral imaginary, the paper will shed light on how the theatrical metaphor of cosmopolitan solidarity is challenged by the physical proximity of the ‘other’. It specifically analyzes how Cantieri Meticci - a theater company based and active in Bologna (Italy) involving asylum seekers, refugees, migrants, and Italian citizens — use participatory theatre to resist, rework, or disrupt the mainstream logic of the border spectacle while also promoting social coexistence between citizens and newcomers. As such, the analysis of their artistic practices and social interventions provides an insight into other methods of being political subjects ‘before and beyond the law’.
The paper is part of the research developed by Pierluigi Musarò
between 2015 and 2016 during his stay as a Visiting Fellow
at the Department of Media & Communications,
London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.