Art of Shame

Concept paper – Artist to artist collaboration / Art(ist)s on the Move

Based on ideas of Oene van Geel and the Art of Shame team. 

Art of Shame (AoS) is about connection and about being present with ‘people on the move’, in particular persons who are stuck in refugee camps and along the European borders. 

Through this artist-to-artist collaboration, we connect ‘artists on the move’ with European artists*. Establishing this connection, we are creating a network of artists from all backgrounds that engage in artistic collaborations crossing boundaries of legal status, country borders, but also of the different art disciplines. Musicians will be able to compose music to accompany visual arts, poets will talk to dancers and designers to performers. We are leaving behind the shell of our legal status and entering a space of mutual appreciation and respect in a collaboration between two or more artists. Hereby, the focus lies not only on the artistic project, but also on the actual connection of two persons who talk and exchange their ideas and experiences.

Art created through these collaborations will surface the hidden human layer underlying our struggles. It will give a way to artists, in Europe and on the move, to express their perspective on the current European policies or to discuss their dreams, hopes or other themes that resonate with them. At the same time, art is a powerful tool to explain the complexity of societal issues to a broader audience. 

In the first phase, Art of Shame and Oene van Geel will identify five European artists and five artists currently living in Greece. The team will pay attention to a balanced gender representation amongst the artists. Q&A sessions with both groups of artists will take place, as well as smaller meetings where one or two members from the AoS team ensure that everyone is on the same page and equally informed about the process. 

The artists engaging in collaborations will be given the time they need for establishing the connection and for creating their pieces. Overall, smaller projects should not take longer than three weeks and videos documenting the process or presenting the art should last between one to five minutes. It is the artists’ choice if they want to appear as authors to their artwork or not. In the process of presenting the art, we will also ask the artists what the collaboration means to them and add this reflection to the published content. All rights to the art will remain with the artist. Possible funds raised through selling art or donations to the project will be given to the artists living in refugee camps or along the European borders.

*The focus lies on ‘European artists’ as Art of Shame operates in the framework of the project Walk of Shame where Europeans connect with people on the move. However, we wish to connect people regardless of their passport. Anyone who feels inspired is welcome to participate in this project.