Last June marked the fifth anniversary of the arrival in the port of Valencia of the humanitarian rescue ship Aquarius. This boat, chartered by Médecins Sans Frontières and SOS Mediterranee, saved 629 people from drowning in the central Mediterranean off the coast of Libya. That episode triggered an unprecedented crisis within the EU – still unresolved – that dynamited the already weak common migration policy. More than 600 journalists from 140 national and international media echoed the arrival of the boat in Valencia, which provoked an unprecedented wave of solidarity.
The exhibition “Unfocused: stories of migration and refuge” approaches not only this event, but also how the lives of the survivors have been during these more than five years in the city of Valencia. It does so through two forms of expression: the photographic medium and the emerging immersive medium. In relation to the former, the exhibition contains more than 50 photographs taken by some twenty nationally renowned photographers. Regarding the second, the visitor will be able to consume an example of immersive narrative entitled Five years laterThe visitors will also receive the latest generation of virtual reality goggles. As a third approach to the subject, the visitor will receive the comic Why Spain?by Loopy Teller Studio and Aquarius Survivors, illustrated by Carlos Vallés, about the reality of survivors and their struggle to achieve a dignified life.
In addition, to learn firsthand their stories, a round table has been scheduled as part of this exhibition, which will be attended by: Moses Von Kallon, president of the Aquarius Survivors Association; Boutaina El Hadri, director of the School of Citizenship and general secretary of the Migrant Force Movement; Kassim Dambele, president Nourdine association; Lorena Tortosa, member of the executive board of the Unió de Periodistes Valencians. Moderator: Fernando Canet, Professor of Audiovisual Communication at the UPV.
This exhibition is organized by the Aquarius Survivors Association and the Cultural Action Area of the Vice-Rectorate for Art, Science, Technology and Society of the Universitat Politècnica de València;
Funded by the research project: Immersive prosocial audiovisual narratives: measuring their impact on society and analyzing their formal and technological characteristics. (CIAICO/2021/258, 2022-2044, Conselleria d’Innovació, Universitats, Ciència i Societat Digital de la Generalitat Valenciana)
Collaborators:
Médicos sin Frontera, Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (CEAR), CESÁfrica, Espai Obert El Marítim, Escuela de Ciudadanía, Movimiento Fuerza Migrante and Jovesólides.
Cooperation Area and Social Action Area of the UPV.