Public Symposium: Art, Migration, and the Politics of Belonging

This symposium is the flagship event of our week-long programme, Art, Migration and the Politics of Belonging. 

As the flagship event of the week-long Art, Migration, and the Politics of Belonging programme, this public symposium convenes established and emerging artists, writers, academics, activists, journalists and cultural practitioners from Ireland and abroad to examine how art can illuminate the complex realities of migration, citizenship, identity and belonging, while opening up vital conversations around human rights, representation and social justice.

Looking across the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, be that the art collection - encompassing painting, print, sculpture and decorative arts - or the library and archive collections, themes of migration, movement, identity and identification proliferate. Researched and developed by art historian Dr Katy Milligan, we have prepared a resource of seventeen artworks to offer an introduction to some of these issues and conversations, moving across time periods and artistic styles.

Download education resource - Project HIDDEN - History of Identity Documentation in European Nations  (PDF)

Speakers and schedule:

Opening keynote address will come from internationally acclaimed Irish artist Brian Maguire, whose socially engaged practice has, for more than four decades, explored themes of conflict, displacement, human dignity and justice. The programme will conclude with a keynote conversation between award-winning journalist and author Sally Hayden and renowned foreign correspondent and author Lara Marlowe, drawing on their extensive reporting on migration, conflict and international affairs. Throughout the event, Dr Ebun Joseph, academic, anti-racism educator and leading advocate for equality and inclusion, will serve as Special Rapporteur, offering critical reflections and drawing together the key ideas and conversations that emerge.

The programme also features panel discussions and interdisciplinary conversations from notable contributors both national and international, whose work explores migration, identity, citizenship, social justice and belonging from a range of artistic, academic and lived perspectives. Speakers include writer and engineer, Suad Aldarra, writer, activist and researcher Evgeny Shtorn; academics Dr Jennifer Redmond and Rita Sakr, art psychotherapist Andrea Plunkett; artist and community development worker Mary Thebe; visual artist and journalist, Ala Buisir; Primary School Teacher & Member/Co-Chair SDG4 Youth & Student Network hosted by UNESCO, Peace Chukwurah; visual artist and curator, Ben Malcolmson; and director and photographer, Tolu Ogunware. Additionally, visual artist, Yosef Phelan, will document the day, creating a unique record and response to the wider programme. 

At a time of profound social and political change, this symposium highlights the unique capacity of art and cultural institutions to create spaces for civic dialogue, critical inquiry and meaningful exchange. By connecting artistic practice, academic research and lived experience, it invites audiences to consider how migration, citizenship, identity and belonging are shaped not only by individual experience, but also by the systems, institutions and cultural narratives that define who belongs. In doing so, the symposium affirms the power of art to foster understanding, challenge inequality, advance social justice and inspire more just, inclusive and compassionate futures.

View the full list of speakers.

Schedule: 

Download the full symposium schedule PDF.

Access information:

The Lecture Theatre is fully accessible at lower ground floor via lift from the Merrion Square Entrance. Toilets and Changing Places are located nearby. This event will have ISL interpretation, and videos of the day’s events will be made available on Gallery channels to watch afterwards. If you have any access requirements please contact [email protected]. 

Tickets:

Tickets cost €20, with discounts available for Friends of the Gallery (20%), students, artists and the unwaged (50%). 

If you would like to attend but the ticket price is a barrier, please get in touch. We reserve a number of free places at our events to improve accessibility [email protected]. 

More information:

The symposium includes tea, coffee and lunch, with generous free-time allowing participants to explore enhanced thematic tours of the National Gallery of Ireland's collection, visit our special Library and Archive display, or experience Arbitrary Nations, an ambitious contemporary installation from the artist Asbestos. The programme concludes with a performance by world music collective, Citadel, before audiences are invited to continue their evening with the Gallery's wider Culture Night celebrations.