From migrant dwelling to cosmopolitan imaginary. Mapping intercultural policies and audiovisual projects in Milan

This paper aims at presenting the key findings of the research program Migrations/Mediations (https://www.migrations-mediations.com), which over the last three years the UCSC’s Department of Communication Sciences and Performing Arts of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Milan has developed reflecting on the role of media, arts and culture in the management of policies devoted to migration phenomena. The project – mainly focused on the Milanese context – drew attention to the ways through which artists and cultural providers can create models of action in territories oriented toward bringing host populations into contact with migrants and refugees, as well as to empower newcomers themselves by offering a space for dialogue and a basis for voice-attaining and self-organising. In doing so, the intention of the study was to gather academic and independent researchers, artists, cultural providers, public and private funders, and policymakers in order to go beyond the traditional academic approach, primarily focused on the current regimes of representation of migrant people and newcomers. On the contrary, all the cultural initiatives we took in account, realised by or in collaboration with migrant subjects born or living in Italy, have practically contributed to question the notion of displacement, deterritorialization and belonging in Italian society and, specifically, in Milan. Significantly, many of the cultural projects coping with migrant transits employ the (moving) image in order to explore how interactions in urban spaces shape a new sense of connectedness within community spaces. Thus, by critically analysing some projects, we will highlight different strategies adopted both by civic institutions and cultural associations in order to understand how top-down and bottom-up boosts contribute to set up new and incisive intercultural policies for Milan city.