Artists Challenge Colonial Tropes in European Border Zones

Over the past twenty years, European border zones have transformed into sites of artistic production. Locations like the Calais "jungle," settlements near Melilla and Ceuta, migrant camps along Mediterranean coastlines, and major train stations in capital cities now serve as art factories. Artists from diverse backgrounds create work in these spaces to confront exoticist and primitivizing representations of immigrants. These persistent tropes have shaped European depictions of African and African migrant presences since the colonial era. The essay examines specific artistic strategies employed within the French borderscape. It considers implications for both contemporary art and political discourse. Published on June 20, 2023, in ARTMargins Volume 12, Issue 2, pages 69-80, the analysis focuses on African noncontemporaneity in contemporary art. The article is available through MIT Press with subscription access.