Migration as a lived everyday encounter of all people might be perceived as a radical idea by many who are currently in the positions of power, such as politicians and decision-makers in national and supranational institutions. To stop the processes of othering, construction of walls and borders, and the implementation of ever-increasing restrictive migration policies, it is essential to adopt a new perspective on migration as a phenomenon. Migration has made our world, historically and contemporary. We need to think how to live with this fact in a way that does not create divisions but better futures.
To achieve this, I will apply the twofold concept of encounter discussed for example by Helen Wilson (2017: 452-455). Here I argue that migration should be understood as an encounter. Firstly, it is important to recognize that encounters are often about difference. However, these differences should not be used as a ground for social distinctions or the contingency of identity and belonging only for particular dominant group. The term ‘difference’ encompasses the multitude of power relations, many of which are unequal and structured throughout intersectional positionalities present in and through several social situations. These power relations should not be seen as fixed but subjected to constant renegotiation. Secondly, encounters also have the potential to make a difference. This is because of many reasons. The everyday encounters are often embodied and include coming together to share experiences and to express emotions. Further, engaging activities together creates the potential for surprises and becoming otherwise – in other words learning new things. For example, a variety of community initiatives offer tangible examples of how individuals, communities, and institutions engage in these initiatives and strive to foster spaces for peaceful coexistence. Now, I will illustrate my argument with discussing the work that the Migration Museum, London, does.
I visited the Migration Museum in October 2024. Founded in 2013, the Museum has had pop-up exhibitions in different cities and locations in the UK. Since 2019 it has been in Lewisham Shopping Centre, about 10 kilometers out of London city. In Lewisham Borough, 48,5 % of its population is from different ethnic minorities, many of them having migrated to the UK. Interestingly, given Britain’s history of centuries of inward and outward migration and colonialism, the Migration Museum is the only one in the UK, established quite recently, and is struggling to secure the finance and permanent premises for the Museum in the city of London in 2027. This precarity, I argue, reveals much about the uneasy histories and silences around migration and migrants which many nation states have not been able handle properly. Struggle to include migrants and their communities to collective national narratives is very common in European countries. Thus, one of the missions of the Museum is to exhibit the long history of migration that has formed the contemporary Britain, its cities, cultures and communities. In other words, encountering the history and legacies of migration that shaped and shapes the contemporary Britain.
The main exhibition in the Museum is called “All Our Stories – Migration and the Making of Britain”. Exhibition has historical section where the stories of people and communities on the move begins at the ice age leading to colonialism, the Second World War, end of Cold War and contemporary forced displacements and the politicized question of migration governance in the EU. The mixed-media documentary film reveals how migration has always shaped our lives and is not a recent phenomenon. As the Museum states in their webpage: “The movement of people across the ages has profoundly shaped our landscapes and cities, our diets and fashions, our language and culture, and our ideas and beliefs. The story of migration goes to the heart of who we are today. And we all have a personal connection to this story. What’s yours?”
“All Our Stories” includes photos, video stories, items, letters, cooking recipes, travelling and memory objects, tickets and passports, the variety of things related migration. It also includes interactive sections and collection of personal and family stories, where everyone could contribute to the exhibition.
In September 2024 the Migration Museum opened a new community curated exhibition called “Inside / Outside and All in Between”. The exhibition was created by five local people, named as community curators by the Museum. Curators have different ethnic backgrounds but a shared connection to Lewisham either through living, working, studying, or volunteering. More than 130 art works where send to them, of which 22 were selected to this first exhibition. Artworks describe the experiences of searching for home, constructing identity, memories of displacement, journeys of belonging and not belonging, and imagining the future/s (see Image 2 and 3). In other words, these artistic pieces provide several insights to migration as a lived experience. Moreover, while being exhibited publicly and viewed by many museum visitors these artworks also make a difference. They describe and visualize everyday negotiations of personhood, bodily memories, emotions, learning new skills and making one’s own place in the world.
The exhibitions and community work done in the Migration Museum is an excellent example of thinking migration as a lived everyday encounter. Overall, these attempts to create social sustainability and inclusivity in localities are fundamental to the development of resilient society and to support peaceful community relations in the era of global mobility. To achieve this, it is necessary to adopt practices that facilitate interaction and understanding across assumed differences. This entails a comprehensive examination of the historical legacies of migratory movements, supporting practices of social resilience and developing just socio-economic transitions in urban localities influenced by historical and contemporary human mobility and migration.
I wish to thank TURNS research platform for mobility funding, University of Newcastle, School of Geography, Politics and Sociology for hosting my research visit, Dr. Malene Jacobsen for inviting me to give a talk in Power, Space and Politics research group’s seminar, and the Migration Museum staff for providing me information about your work.
Dr. Anna-Kaisa Kuusisto is a Docent of Political Geography and University Lecturer of Regional Studies, Tampere University. Her research focuses on migration, displacement, place identity, belonging and art-based methodologies.
References:
The Migration Museum. https://www.migrationmuseum.org (Accessed 2.1.2025)
Wilson, Helen F. 2017. “On geography and encounter: Bodies, borders, and difference.” Progress in Human Geography 41(4), 451–471. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132516645958
