Artistic Representations of Refugees: What Is the Role of the Artist?

The literature on ethical considerations for artists involved in collaborative projects with refugees and asylum seekers is sparse, indicating a lack of robust discussions on the ethical pitfalls artists may encounter in such endeavours. Based on the first author’s reflections on her subjective experiences as an artist representing the story of a young Somali asylum seeker woman through collaborative filmmaking, this paper aims to open up broader discussions about artists’ responsibilities to produce counter-narratives that value refugees’ perspectives and voices. By doing so, artists can avoid perpetuating existing tropes that can at times be detrimental to refugees and asylum seekers, and ensure that artists’ own agendas are secondary to what ‘protagonists’ wish to convey. We suggest five simple ways of realising this goal: genuine collaboration; informed consent; anonymity; focusing on the mundane; and (in the case of filmmaking specifically) an awareness of the editing process as a political act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]