Migration and asylum are beginning to be ascribed unpleasant connotations. They are today frequently associated with disintegration, unrest, criminality and other disturbing social factors. And yet migration and asylum have existed in all eras and, by introducing new elements, have often been the agents of positive social and cultural regeneration; Amsterdam flourished economically and consequently culturally largely due to the immigration in 1585 of Antwerp Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition.
The 1937 exhibition Entarte Kunst in Nazi Germany became a symbol of the oppression of modern artists. Many fled the country and many found refuge in the United States. Painters such as Chagall and Mondrian too sought refuge in the United States. Their arrival brought a new creative impulse to their new homeland and presented them with possibilities for new developments in their work. The German artist Max Beckmann made his best work in Amsterdam, where he found asylum in the 1930s. In his case too, a tragic situation gave rise to increased creativity in a new land.
The world is still full of comparable problems: dictators drive their best people away and millions are dispersed by war or poverty. All continents experience the phenomenon of migration and asylum, on an enormous scale in places.
The West is currently closing its borders, fearful of new cultural and religious influences. Fortress Europe threatens to become an anxious reality. Europeans have not sufficiently realised that a majority of the world’s refugees are living elsewhere in the world: Afghans in Iran, Sudanese in Uganda and Chad, Zimbabweans in South Africa, and Iraqis in Jordan.
For its activities and awards this year the Prince Claus Fund is looking for examples of positive consequences of migration and asylum: What do migrants contribute to their new environment? What do they bring with them from their country of origin? What new perspectives have they acquired through their relocation?
Migration can lead to cultural diversity and cultural transmission. Musicians meet and develop new styles, writers describe their experiences, filmmakers document their old and new lives. A migrant can become a star and launch new cultural trends in their new homeland. Many doors and windows fly open, which may cause a draught, but above all much needed fresh air.
The Prince Claus is looking for new lives, new ideas and reborn people.
Prince Claus Fund, May 2004
