This article is also published in a thematic block Living on a Border within the art in migration magazine collaboratively published by Soho in Ottakring and KITCH. The texts and photos are contributed by the authors from every partner organization of the Living on a Border project.     

Art is a universal entity that can also be of trans-cultural form. Artists migrating from one place to another usually carry their artistic skills and abilities along with them.

They include those artists that are better known as mobile artists, who rove about from place to place, but still retaining their permanent residents in their familiar environments. Most of them are in the category of artists who have often than not, over the time, gained accreditation cross-borders. For those who have not gained acknowledgments outside of their door-steps, it is obvious uphill task migrating to a new environment and carrying on with their creative works. In whichever way the artists could be affected, there is no disputing that environment remains essential element for them to create or recreate ideas effectively, environment directly or indirectly influencing their creativity.

Artists are mirrors of society that their backgrounds and/or heritage usually reflect in their works. As such, those whose works are done in a more conducive environment are likely to be more accomplishing than those whose works are carried out in a non-conducive environment. Also they need peace of mind and inspiration to be most creative, especially for those being referred to as imaginative artists.

Artists are inspired by their environment, so the environment under which they work do, however, reflex on their works, and thus noticed or sensed by those who admire them. In such a case the mood of the art work can be sadness, melancholy, protestation, provocation, harmony, etc.Most migrants who are in Austria pursuing their career are often faced with inhumane laws and a lot of other obstacles, structural, political, social, cultural and otherwise, the atmosphere being non-conducive for them. They are constantly confronted with problems of social diversities and profiling. Always fighting for existence, residence-permits and jobs, and in most cases they do not have the necessary resources or support needed for their work, just to mention but a few.

Again, because they are from different backgrounds and mother counties, they are at times faced with the problem of social and cultural integration, clash of cultures and social divides, and are sometimes faced with conflict of identity. In some cases they run into difficulties trying to create dialog between cultures; dialog between peoples and dialog between arts, some of the objectives of art.

By trying to fit into the system of their host county, Austria, some would sometimes begin rational or irrational to borrow ideas from their immediate environment. However, there is nothing wrong in artists borrowing ideas to create a kind of trans-cultural form of artistry; the trouble is that if they are not careful enough they could run the risk of producing works that could be lacking personal identity, value and concept, and could then regenerate to ordinary art that is without self-critic.

Art has its own language, be it in music, literary art, drawing, sculpture or any other form of art. An art is, therefore, a communicative medium, carrying some messages that require interpretation and understood.

Art works could have elements of history, fantasy, imagination, abstraction, and tale telling, the messages being unique, investigative, interpretative, informative, entertaining, abstract or concrete etc.

 

       
Photo by Magdalena Blaszczuk

It is Difficult Migrants to Find Acceptance in Austria

It is difficult migrants to find acceptance in Austria. It is, therefore, by no means easy for Austrian society to acknowledge or accept the art productions of migrant artists. Even when they reluctantly or grudgingly do, they would still prefer those artistic images and elements that are familiar to them. Ironically though, rather than promote the migrant artists already residing in Austria, they are always excited taking pride in importing foreign artists for displays. And yet whenever a migrant artist made name outside of Austrian borders in anyway, the society still turns around to acknowledge him/her as one of its own.

It is common knowledge that they are not readily promoted by the media of their newly found homes. Communication gaps exist between the migrant artists with a different mother tongue and their foreign society as they must grapple with the foreign language that often than not pose problem to them, more so when their works involve spoken or written language, or require mental or verbal interpretations and transformation. This explains why their works are sometimes being disregarded and referred to as primitive, weird, esoteric or even representing the backward culture of their ancestral heritage.

Music is, though, one form of art that is most appreciated by society, as long as it is systematically overwhelm with rhythm that is common appreciated as universal language of music. It does not matter if the music involves the foreign language that cannot be comprehended.

It is commonly said that art is free, yet migrant artists cannot thrive freely or criticise the sensitive aspects of society or politics, less they are accused of being provocative or over-stepping their bounds. They could also lose their legal stay.

Most artists rely on the authorities for subventions, a breath-taking effort for the indigences too. The migrant artists have no equal opportunities with the  free citizens. If at all they are to get any support, they must be in the position to prove that their works have a way of benefiting Austria, better still if they are holding Austrian passport.

Anyway, because there are individually organised cultural associations, they have the privilege of working with those to at least treasure on much little success. In some sense, God, religion and spirituality are no go areas, so it is not common for artists who base on those to have success.

Notwithstanding the brain-drain involved in artists pursuing their callings in a new space, they are often exploited by established organisations, promoters and opportune individuals, especially those claiming to be promoting arts and cultures. This is most true of the artists who tend to create in a new space, where they are not familiar with, and have more or less no lobby.

Invariably, art objects migrate across borders, stolen or bought. They create opportunities for the indigenous artists to recreate or transform different species of arts from mixed cultures. Yet it is by no means easy to empower migrant artists to create in a new space and evolve real trans-cultural entities.

Obiora C-Ik Ofoedu is an artist living and working in Vienna. 

 

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DEUTSCH   KünstlerInnen, die von einem Ort zum anderen migrieren, nehmen ihre Herkunft mit, die sich in ihrer kreativen Arbeit niederschlägt. Gleichzeitig reagieren sie auf ihreneue Umgebung und befinden sich somit ineinem transkulturellen Prozess. Die Bedingungen, unter denen diese KünstlerInnen arbeiten können oder müssen, spielen dabei einewesentliche Rolle. In Österreich ist die Akzeptanz von migrierten KünstlerInnen oft marginal. Es kommt sogar vor, dass KünstlerInnenaus dem Ausland eingeladen werden unddurchaus willkommen sind, jene internationalen KünstlerInnen, die bereits hier sind, aberverschmäht werden - es sei denn sie werdenim Ausland bekannt. MigrantInnen, diekünstlerisch arbeiten, haben aber auch mitanderen Schwierigkeiten zu kämpfen: mit der Sprache (wenn sie nicht gerade musizieren), mit einem ungesicherten Status, mit dem Zugang zu Subventionen. Oft sind diese KünstlerInnen mit der Situation konfrontiert, dass sie - weil ihnen häufig die Erfahrung undein Netzwerk fehlen - von etablierten Institutionen ausgenutzt werden. Wann werden in Österreich auch diese kreativen Potenzialeendlich eingebunden und anerkannt.