Arbitrary Borders
Event Details
Arbitrary borders are set by governments or authorities; by war and treaties; by regulation, social and
institutional differences and personal boundaries.
Millions of people worldwide have been forcibly moved to reserves or camps, detention, or marginal lands
and denied citizenship and human rights within their country of birth. For millions of others it is no longer
safe to stay in their homelands.
Borders are not just between countries. There are internal political boundaries that have the same effect.
Forced resettlement; regulations; treaties that set up separated geographical areas and remove traditional
lands of Indigenous peoples around the world through apartheid, isolation, marginalization are part of this
arbitrary separation.
At what point do we stop and examine the personal and moral cost to society of setting boundaries based
on fear and protectionism, on difference? When do we look closely at the real and personal effects and
tragic consequences of barriers rather than seeing only the barrage of media, political rhetoric, and
strategy? How does it affect the world and growing tensions when so many people have their basic human
rights violated, when they are born stateless? When climate change, globalization and extremist attitudes
prevail over our basic humanity?
The show examines the concept of immigration and rejection, walls, fences, resettlement, detainment, the
millions of people caught in political battles and manoeuvres, and what it means for humanity and
individuals when a decision is made to close borders and evict asylum seekers, to send them back to their
unsafe homeland or to homes that are no longer there or to force them to live in isolated marginal lands;
when we treat people as other.
Artwork that considers either the barrier itself or what is on either side of the barrier, the hope for
acceptance, or the despair of rejection are part of this juried show. Where do these barriers begin? Where
do they end? As artists we raise the questions, we do not have the answers.
April 5, 6, 7, 2018
Official opening: Thursday April 5th from 6 – 9pm
Hours:
Thursday 11am -9pm
Friday 11 am – 9 pm
Saturday 10 am – 5pm
