Birds of Passage is a research-based residency program for international artists, curators, writers, and cultural practitioners working in the fields of visual arts, design and interactive media, music, literature, and performing arts.
FROM MAY 6 TO 16, 2023.
The conceptual framework of Birds of Passage is embedded in the call of Sankofa (1993), which advocates for the creation of sites that gather parallel expressions of coexistence and encourage historically and politically contextualized narratives. Birds of Passage functions as a platform for exchange, fostering reflection on the past and collective imagination for the future through artistic action and public participation.
The residency aims to support and facilitate the professional development of cultural practitioners at all stages of their careers, from emerging to established. Call-and-Response as Process weaves together the participatory exchange among collectives, envisioning new layers of possibility. The program invites participants to cultivate dialogue and research through peer-to-peer conversations, public programming, screenings, and opportunities to engage with local artists, academics, and curators in Milan who share common interests. Residents are encouraged to focus on the processual aspect of their artistic practice.
Birds of Passage’s protagonists: Sagal Farah e SA Smythe
Sagal Farah is a writer, curator, and educator whose interests revolve around migration, Geopoetics, and multilingualism. Language and writing form the foundation of her practice, but her work has also manifested in the form of installations using personal and public archival material, image and sound creation—attesting to the interweaving of narratives and the importance of specificity in mapping historical, contemporary, and future trajectories. She is in residence with Solar Noon, a project conceived during her first visit to Mogadishu, Somalia (her birthplace), where she confronted the legacy of Italian colonialism embedded in architecture, monuments, and urban planning that continue to shape everyday Somali life.
SA Smythe is a critical theorist, educator, and transmedia artist. Their artistic practice combines poetry, score compositions, performance, and light sculptures to trace cartographies of Black and trans (non-)belonging. Their work has been featured in exhibitions, workshops, and festivals in Italy and internationally. Winner of the 2022 Rome Prize in Modern Italian Studies, Smythe moves between Toronto, Italy, and the unceded land of the Tongva people. They are currently Assistant Professor of Black Studies & the Archive at the University of Toronto, where they direct the Collaboratory for Black Poiēsis. They are in residence at BASE with proclivity, a suite of nine movements blending live-looped instruments, interactive sound channels, light sculptures, gestures, and multi-screen video projections.
#SameSameCalls are calls promoted by BASE Milano throughout 2023, each in collaboration with different partners, to amplify plurality by including people of all ages, abilities, genders, and races. Recognizing these four dimensions as a single intersection means weaving together the lives of nearly 8 billion people on the planet and advocating for transversal and inclusive representation.
WE WORKED WITH
GUEST CURATOR: Mistura Allison
Mistura Allison is an independent researcher, curator, and art historian based between London and Milan. She is the founder of ashikọ. Her work focuses on research-based practices and the plurality of contemporary Afro-diasporic visual and oral productions.
MOLESKINE FOUNDATION
Moleskine Foundation is a non-profit organization that believes creativity is a key driver of social change. Its central mission is to inspire, empower, and connect young people to transform themselves and their communities. To achieve this, it funds a range of unconventional educational programs that unlock creative potential and foster attitudes of change in young people. It also promotes spaces where critical thinking and imagination can flourish.
ASHIKỌ
ashikọ is an independent, visually-driven, and dynamic global multimedia platform inspired by Africa and its diaspora. It serves as a research hub for visual culture within and beyond the margins. At its core, ashikọ addresses questions of voice and visibility—who speaks and who is heard—making it deeply tied to the politics of recognition.
