ZiM Debate #13

[ Friday, 26 May 2006 ]

the REpresentation of migrants

Start: 19.30
Begin Debate: 20.00
Location: Zwaanshals 474/ Oude Noorden in Rotterdam
Directions: tram 8 (direction Oostplein) or 4 (direction Molenlaan) from Centraal Station exit Bergweg/hoek Gerald Scholtenstraat


Speakers: Yvonne Heygele (beleidsmedewerker van COS, Centrum voor internationale samenwerking Rijnmond & Midden Holland), Robert de Hartogh (photographer), Samuli Schielke (antropologist and photographer)


Robert de Hartogh and Samuli Schielke are both exhibiting at this moment in the framework “Van Gastarbeider Tot Allochtoon”, 40 jaar (arbeids)migratie in Rotterdam, which is also a ZiM project. This debate is about their photographic work and their approach towards the representation of migration.

Robert de Hartogh
Since the seventies Robert de Hartogh has been photographing working migrants coming to Holland. His work was and still is a major contribution regarding the representation of migrants here in the Netherlands. In his experience the outlook upon and (media) representation of migrants has been changing over the last few years drastically. What has changed and what are the backgrounds and conditions for those changes? And is it true that the dynamics of a society is determined by how the media are representing vulnerable groups?

Samuli Schielke
By profession cultural anthropologist Samuli Schielke is also photographer. As much as possible he combines those two realms. He believes that there is no such thing as objective representation, be it through texts or images. Telling about people is (or at least it should be) always a dialogic process. Ideally, a good image is the result of a creative cooperation in which two version of a story come together: how a person wants to be seen, and how a photographer chooses to depict this person.

Yvonne Heygele
"The only way to dissolve deeply engraved prejudices is by giving migrants themselves a voice." Yvonne Heygele is project-leader at COS for the project 'Mothers and sons - messages for the future', which was started to reduce the growing negative image around islamic mothers. What where her experiences in this project? What methods and means did she use in order to try to change image representation?