Issue 31:1 | March 2011 | Diaspora

Diaspora

The movement of individuals and cultures across nations is increasingly complex. What impact do the shifting cultures of Australia have on contemporary visual arts practice? Diasporic artists contribute to the evolving geography of global contemporary art. Artists from Africa, Asia and the Middle East bring with them attachments to home as they move elsewhere for political, social or economic reasons.  This process becomes central to their creative practice. What are the uses and misuses of the concept of diaspora in Australia? How does that relate to that particularly Australian term – multiculturalism? Do we over-determine the cultural identities of artists?