Being human, in St Andrews

A photographic exhibition depicting migration in Italy will open at the University of St Andrews this weekend (Saturday 15 November 2014).

The exhibition of the work of award-winning photographer Mario Badagliacca is just one of the highlights of a special event organised by the University’s Italian Department.

The event ‘Being Human – Migration Lives: Migration Stories’ forms part of Being Human, the UK’s first national festival of the humanities.

The main one-day event – on Saturday 15 November – in St Andrews includes workshops on photography and a discussion of how migrants appear in the media by the Rome-based Archivio Memorie Migranti and Pan African Arts in Glasgow.

Representatives from both bodies will show how their own work challenges common stereotypes of migrants in both Italy and Scotland.

Mario Badagliacca will also appear in St Andrews to discuss his work, which brings together people with a wide range of experiences and skills to document creatively what it means to migrate.

The Department will also screen Dagmawi Yimer’s film Va’ pensiero, an exploration of racist violence in Italy.

Professor Derek Duncan of the School of Modern Languages, said:

“While the UK press does offer some coverage of the thousands of people crossing the Mediterranean trying to reach the southern shores of Europe in ramshackle boats we very rarely get the chance to hear about this experience from the perspective of those people actually involved.

“Migration Stories: Migration Lives will offer a unique opportunity to go beyond the language of political crisis. We will be looking at work made by people who survived the crossing and how NGOs in Italy are using video and photography to tell their stories.”

All events on 15 November are free but should be booked online in advance via the Being Human website (www.beinghumanfestival.org/events).

Although all other events run for just one day, the photographic exhibition – Migration Lives by Mario Badagliacca – runs until Friday 28 November (excluding weekends) at the Arts Building on The Scores, St Andrews.

ENDS

NOTE TO PICTURE EDITORS:

Images from the Migration Lives exhibition are available for use from the Press Office – contacts below.  All images should be credited to Mario Badagliacca.

More details on the AHRC funded project Transnationalising Modern Languages can be found here – http://www.transnationalmodernlanguages.ac.uk/

Issued by the Press Office, University of St Andrews

Contact Gayle Cook, Senior Communications Manager on 01334 467227 or email [email protected]

Ref: Migration Lives