Working in collaboration with partner organisations in Germany, Belgium, Poland and Sweden, the Multicultural Centre Prague (MKC Prague) realizes in 2010 and 2011 a unique project that focuses on the global economic crisis s impact on migrant communities. At the centre of the project will be the exhibition Flexi-In-Security. We are currently looking for five teams, comprising one photographer and one researcher, who want to contribute to the project.
Deadline: 20th of March 2010
THE PROJECT
Encouraging labour migration is one of the ways to make labour markets more flexible. The negative side of this flexibility is increasingly visible today, in a period of unprecedented economic crisis, in which it is migrant workers who are the first to lose their jobs. In the case of recent migrants, losing the job means sometimes also losing the right to remain in the country.
Aiming to contribute to an urgently needed public debate on the ways labour migration is organized, at the core of the Flexi-in-security project is a documentation on the crisis s impact on migrant communities in different parts of Europe. Participating photographers and researchers are expected to combine the approaches of documentary photography and anthropological research while focussing on the impact of the crisis on a local community of their choice. This location can either be a place that attracts migrants (or used to attract them before the crisis) or a place from which migrants originate. Also portraits of two places linked by a migration or commuting pattern are welcome.
The result of their work will be a series of portraits of individual migrants in the context of their local community. The research teams will document not only the adaptation and survival strategies of individual migrants but also the way relevant local or national institutions (such as labour offices, self-help organisations, labour agencies, municipalities) in the different countries deal with the disappearance of employment opportunities.
The resulting photographs and stories will be presented online and, after the conclusion of the documentation work, in a travelling exhibition to be shown in the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Poland.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We are looking for applications from research teams. Each research team will be made up of a photographer and a researcher (social anthropologist, sociologist, journalist, etc.). The selected teams will in their work focus on migrant communities in (or deriving from) the Czech Republic (1 team), Germany (1 team), Belgium (1 team), Sweden (1 team) and Poland (1 team).
Good knowledge of English is necessary, as this will be the working language of two joint workshops at the beginning and at the end of the research period. Knowledge of other languages relevant to the research and specific regional knowledge are an additional plus. We would also like to encourage the participants to combine their work on this project with their own journalistic or academic projects.
Teams apply with a short outline (1 page maximum) of the project they are proposing. The quality of this proposal will be one selection criterion. However, the project organisers reserve the right to demand changes to the work project of selected teams, in order to ensure the final exhibition s overall coherence. The projects of all selected teams will be jointly discussed at the first working meeting before the beginning of the actual research phase.
PRACTICAL PROJECT REALIZATION:
The 5 chosen teams of photographers and researchers will participate in an international preparation seminar in the Czech Republic (Thu 8th of April - Sat 10th of April 2010) where they will get a deeper insight into the project and the research topic from various perspectives.
The research team will have to conduct their individual research trips within the six months before the next meeting of all project participants (mid-October, 2010). They will be producing personal stories / portraits of labour migrants in the context of their home community, which will be presented as a combination of photography and text. There are some guidelines to follow, but the teams will have full artistic freedom in expression. In addition to preparing their final output, the research teams will maintain a blog to provide information on their activities and progress.
During the second seminar the artwork and additional research results will be finally selected and the text material edited.
The exhibition opening is scheduled for February 2011 in Prague, followed by displays in other Czech cities and in Brussels, Warsaw, Berlin and Boras (Sweden). It will be accompanied by a virtual online-exhibtion and an exhibition catalogue. Additional materials will be presented on www.migrationonline.cz, the Multicultural Centre s specialized website dealing with migration issues.
Each team will receive a lump sum, which should include a modest author fee, as well as covering expenses incurred for materials, accommodation and food. However, participants who seek to realize research that is very expansive or time-consuming are encouraged to seek additional funding.
APPLICATION:
Please fill in the following information, attach your CV and mail your application before the 20th of March 2010 to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
