PaReMAPs · Pathways to Recognition through Migrants’ Artistic Practices: The Case of Slovenia

PaReMAPs responds to rising anti-migrant sentiment and societal polarization on migration that are eroding core European values of solidarity and cohesion. Its overarching aim is to advance scholarly understanding of the role of migrants’ artistic practices (MAPs) in fostering new pathways to recognition of their cultural membership. Although there is a growing acknowledgement that recognition represents a key dimension of social justice, the understanding of how recognition gaps can be closed remains limited. PaReMAPs innovation lies in: (1) developing a novel, context-sensitive analytical framework for studying recognition in the context of MAPs; (2) delivering the first systematic, multi-level study of MAPs’ capacity to open new recognition pathways, simultaneously covering migrants’ experiences of (mis)recognition, the articulation of recognition claims through art, and the reception of recognition claims by public audiences; and (3) providing empirical evidence on migrants’ pathways to recognition from the understudied context of Central Europe. The project applies an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on cultural sociology, feminist migration studies, and postcolonial theory, and combines qualitative and participatory action research that positions migrant artists as co-producers of knowledge. A secondment in an NGO specializing in intercultural dialogue and arts-based methods will further enhance training and impact. PaReMAPs will open new avenues in research on recognition, migration, and the arts; deliver recommendations for policymakers in cultural and integration policy; and provide NGOs, cultural institutions, and migrant artists with replicable models of inclusive arts-based engagement and empirically grounded narratives of (mis)recognition. It will also significantly advance the researcher’s career in migration research, strengthening her capacity for independent, innovative, and responsible scholarship within and beyond academia.