{"id":108,"date":"2013-01-20T21:24:02","date_gmt":"2013-01-20T21:24:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/refugeeresearch.net\/ms\/km\/?p=108"},"modified":"2013-01-24T19:02:02","modified_gmt":"2013-01-24T19:02:02","slug":"check-out-the-invisible-borders-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/refugeeresearch.net\/ms\/km\/2013\/01\/20\/check-out-the-invisible-borders-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Check out the Invisible Borders Film!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Invisible Borders Trans-African Photographic Initiative<\/strong> is an\u00a0art-led initiative, founded in Nigeria in 2009 by passionate Nigerian artists \u2013 mostly photographers \u2013 with a drive and urge to effect change in the society.\u00a0It was registered in 2011 under the Cooperate Affairs Commission (CAC) of\u00a0Nigeria as Invisible Borders Trans-African Photographers Organisation. The\u00a0vision of the initiative is to become a symbol of networking and trans-border\u00a0associations within the arts and photography in Africa, but also to become a\u00a0stepping-stone platform for young immerging talents in the continent in such\u00a0a way that it creates a breeding ground for young artist to be thinking beyond\u00a0borders at the beginning stage of their creative quest.<\/p>\n

The mission of the Initiative is to tell Africa\u2019s stories, by Africans, through\u00a0photography and inspiring artistic interventions; to encourage exposure of\u00a0upcoming African photographers towards art and photography as practiced\u00a0in other parts of the continent.; to establish a platform that encourages and\u00a0embraces trans- African artistic relationships within the continent, and to\u00a0contribute towards the socio-political discourse shaping Africa of the 21st\u00a0Century.<\/p>\n

Their goal is to constantly spread and share knowledge and information,\u00a0cutting across the demarcating lines of classes and proficiency in literacy,\u00a0thereby expanding the art public to include more of the local audience and\u00a0the \u201clayman\u201d.<\/p>\n

Their activities aim to cut through the local, national and international, and to\u00a0create points of interactions between these levels, hence the name Invisible\u00a0Borders. The main activity \/project of the Initiative since its foundation has\u00a0been The Invisible Borders Trans-African Road Trip Project, a project where\u00a0about a dozen artists\/photographers collectively take road trip across Africa\u00a0to explore and participate in various photographic events, festival and\u00a0exhibitions while engaging on a daily basis with the environment and the\u00a0people encountered. The emphasis is primarily on the collective journey of\u00a0the participating artists who, during their momentary stops in capital cities,\u00a0create photographic, video and textual works that often reflect their individual\u00a0approach to engaging with local artists, art practitioners and the inhabitants.\u00a0They also collaborate intensively with colleagues from each of the countries\u00a0involved.<\/p>\n

Participants of Invisible Borders are dedicated to creating works, which\u00a0portray the dynamism, richness as well as contradictions of the various modes\u00a0of existence of the African people. In doing this, they reject a simplified notion\u00a0of Africa nor a tidy definition of it, but instead hopes to create an archive of\u00a0works which \u201ccomplicates\u201d the depiction of contemporary Africa, one which\u00a0sees the continent as work-in-progress, rather than a foregone conclusion.<\/p>\n

We can therefore see the Invisible Borders Road trip as a workshop of artistic\u00a0creation and a performative social intervention all rolled into one. Moreover it\u00a0offers that unique experience of \u201clearning in motion\u201d and discovering oneself\u00a0through interactions with diverse encounters by constantly altering one\u2019s own\u00a0reality through constant movement. Check out their film!<\/p>\n