Migration:Cities – (im)migration and arrival cities

How are (im)migrants and receiving populations constantly making new forms of urbanism in the cities reflected in cultural, geographical, political and economic processes? The continued influx of migrants brings new challenges for contemporary cities. Migrants settle in an existing context, which can lead to polarisation, exclusion, enrichment and creation of new cultural resources. Migrants contribute to the vitality and diversity of today’s global cities.

How are cities and citizens adjusting to this increasing diversity? What cultural, political and economic processes and transformations arise from these dynamics and what is their impact on the identities of the different groups affected? By representing these processes and transformations through their activities and functions, museums are engaging with contemporary urban life, seeking direct contact with different communities in the city, looking for everyday ways of adapting, transforming and making cities work betterand become more resilient. These urban dynamics require thoughtful engagement to allow museums to act as mediators of dialogues and places for a renewed kind of world citizenship.

The International Committee for the Collections and Activities of Museums of Cities (CAMOC) in partnership with the Commonwealth Association of Museums (CAM) and the International Committee for Regional Museums (ICR) set out to explore the roles museums can have in collecting, presenting and collaborating in these processes through their joint project Migration:Cities. (Im)migration and Arrival Cities. The overall aim of the project is to create a web platform for city, migration and other museums dealing with this issue as well as museum professionals to find relevant experiences, share knowledge and discuss ethical and meaningful ways to engage with new urban dynamics and the diverse realities of ‘Arrival Cities’.

The organisers hope platform becomes a resource for museum professionals and a hub to discuss the preservation and representation of contemporary urban life in museums, offer different insights from various types of practical research tools and museums’ and migrants’ own experiences. It also aims to facilitate exchange and mentoring opportunities between professionals, to act as a think-tank and contact zone between professionals and institutions alike.