Immigrant Movement International is an art project implementing the concept of Useful Art, in which artists actively implement the merger of art into society’s urgent social, political, and scientific issues.
Tania Bruguera’s concept for Immigrant Movement International was inspired by the civil unrest in the suburbs of Paris in 2005 led by immigrants. The lack of real political representation for immigrants and the little respect and committed dialogue from politicians with the immigrant community inspired this project to place migrants in a position of power, whereby their political representation could be strengthened through a political party created by immigrants. The commonalities that exist between all migrants, regardless of their individual circumstances and place of origin, as well as the treatment of immigrant issues by politicians are the force behind this project.
In 2010 Tania was approached by Creative Time and the Queens Museum of Art to produce a new public art project; her proposal was Immigrant Movement Internationa.
Immigrant Movement International (IM International) launched in March 2011 in Corona, Queens, New York. Queens is a borough known for its vibrant immigrant population, with more than 45% of the population being foreign born, and with approximately 138 languages spoken.
IM International has developed into a project that operates on multiple levels. Due to the constraints of forming a political party within a non-profit organization in the United States, IM International took on the form of a community center, paying respect to the tradition and victories of U.S. civic movements. IM International is an art project implementing the concept of Useful Art, in which artists actively implement the merger of art into society’s urgent social, political, and scientific issues. IM International functions as a think-tank for immigrant issues, working to be part of the fight for the advancement of immigrant rights and advocate for progressive immigration policies. The project is actively working toward challenging the way human migration is perceived, in order to eliminate the social stigma associated with it. These issues are explored through political and artistic actions to pursue the empowerment of migrants to take on issues that most affect them personally, as well as the immigrant community at large.
As it moves to different locations around the world, IM International will draw on the lessons learned in the multinational and transnational neighborhood of Corona and its vibrant and pioneering organizations run by immigrants for immigrants.
