Concept exhibition

“WORK IN MOTION – migration, mobility and labour”:

The industrial revolutions set man in motion again after agriculture had made him settle down.

Farmers and farm workers moved into the cities to find a better life there. (Im)migrant workers came a long way, giving up their roots and homelands to find wealth by working in an industrial nation. Some industrial countries even invited them over since they were in need of more workers.

Through this process of migration, foreigners and their religions and ideas join a nation, and they have to be accepted, sometimes controlled and at best integrated in a productive way. Migration has always been a part of European history.

Prospering regions attract job seekers who dream of wealth and better circumstances. Big cities emerge due to the flow of migration and, as a consequence, traffic and public transport increase.

Today, flexibility is the keyword to describe the situation of the working population. A lot of employees commute daily over long distances or move houses every few years. For some of them, it is the only way to stay employed; others take their chances to improve.

At the same time, whole branches move their factories to countries where wages are low. Sometimes, whole production plants are deconstructed and rebuilt in other countries. These migrations of jobs often leave workers unemployed and the industrial nations are now in need of new jobs. The products that are produced in low-wage countries find their way back to industrial countries. This flow of goods is accompanied by the international flow of money.

Specialists and scientists are enticed away by other industrial countries, which is called brain drain, and dreamers often look for their el dorado in foreign countries. Employment enables people to climb the social ladder, whereas unemployment may lead to decline. Employment is a chance to develop, both for men and whole countries.

The media art exhibition “WORK IN MOTION - migration, mobility and labour” intends to pool various artistic approaches in a pulsating art show. This exhibition has a strong reference to Sofia itself. The Kremikovtzi steel works are one of the greatest employers in Sofia as well as one of the strongest sources of pollution. The selling of the steel works to a subsidiary company of the giant, Indian-based Mittal Steel group gives a concrete local example for various European and global of phenomena that are shown within the exhibited art.