This document provides an introduction to a special issue on "Art and Mobility". It discusses mobility as an important concept that has entered academic and cultural discussions. Mobility is linked to cultural exchange, identity formation, and artistic practice. The special issue aims to reflect on the history and processes of mobility, and how it impacts knowledge, culture, and art. It features texts and artworks from artists and researchers that address topics like cultural diversity, migration, residencies, sustainability, and cultural policies. The issue demonstrates the growing interest in mobility and the need for further analysis of its social and cultural implications.

1. Art and Mobility. An Introduction
HERMAN BASHIRON MENDOLICCHIO
• This article was published as the editorial of the special issue on “Art and
Mobility”, InterArtive #55, September 2013. http://artmobility.interartive.org
Intro
The primary purpose of this special issue on “Art and Mobility” is to
reflect on the multiple aspects of cultural and artistic mobility and to
open the way towards a transdisciplinary field of study that increasingly
claims its place in the analysis and research of the social and cultural
dynamics of the contemporary world.
The concept of mobility has finally entered the vocabulary and the
agenda of numerous international institutions;[1] in certain academic
research projects; in Masters and university programs (Intercultural
Studies, Migration Studies, Arts and Cultural Management, Visual
Studies, Global Studies, Leisure Studies, among others) and, above all,
in many cultural and artistic organizations working internationally.
However, the reality is that we are still facing a lack and shortage of
narrative, literature and critique on mobility and its implications in the
cultural, artistic and social domain.[2]

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Nevertheless, the multitude of meetings, symposia and seminars that
are taking place around these issues in recent years, clearly
demonstrates the increasing interest in the topic. Seminars and studies
on the impact of mobility on local, regional and international policies;[3]
platforms to explore artistic mobility in the Mediterranean;[4] meetings
to exchange ideas, fund strategies and experiences about cultural
mobility between Asia and Europe;[5] programs to promote residencies
of artists,[6] cultural professionals, researchers and even cultural
journalists[7] – to name a few examples – are multiplying each day and
indicate that the practical aspect of mobility, and its demand, are in a
phase of substantial raise.
Within this panorama it becomes necessary to generate new questions
and to look for new answers. In the global era and the liquid times in
which we find ourselves, mobility is one of the more diffused practices
and one that more needs to be investigated and analysed.
What kind of knowledge, ideas and visions, do mobility practices
generate? How does mobility influence the transformation and evolution
of urban areas, cities and new citizens? How could cultural mobility
contribute to a responsible and sustainable transformation of society?
How can it help to transform people, their vision, knowledge, identity
and their perception of the public space and environment? How can it
help to develop an intercultural knowledge?
Artistic practices and creativity are directly and closely linked to
mobility. A great part of the art and architecture that we know would
not have existed if it weren’t for the urge to travel, to discover, the
need to go beyond the limits – territorial and intellectual – of the
known.
To reflect on mobility today means to widen the perspective, to go
beyond the concepts of travel, discovery and displacement; it calls for
an analysis of the social, political, economic and cultural phenomena
linked to it.
The practice of mobility can be thought of as a phenomenological
experience where identity comes into contact with alterity, as a path of
transformation where ideas, perceptions and preconceptions are
questioned, as a value and as a conscious process of enrichment and of
knowledge, and not just as a simple trip or a simple displacement.

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Mobility presents multiple facets: it is directly related to the issue of
diversity, exchange, experience and intercultural dialogue. At the same
time, it makes us reflect on migration, exile and the obstacles faced
when crossing borders.
The objectives of this publication are to reflect on a history of mobility,
to go in depth in the processes of transformation of knowledge, culture
and art in the practice of mobility and, above all, to think about mobility
today, in a contemporary context.
.
Travel, Exchange, Identity
The phenomenon of mobility, in conjunction with the evolution of the
means of communication and transport, transforms our way of life and
contributes to the formation of “horizontal identities”. As the writer
Amin Maalouf suggests: “Things have changed so much in a few years
that we feel infinitely closer to our contemporaries than to our
ancestors. Would I be exaggerating if I said that I have more in
common with a passer-by chosen at random in a street of Prague,
Seoul, San Francisco or Barcelona, than with my own grandfather? Not
only because of appearance, clothes, habitat or tools that surround us
but also because of moral concepts, ways of thinking. And also because
of beliefs. (…) In short, each of us is the deposit of two inheritances:
one, “vertical”, comes from our ancestors, the tradition of our village, of
our religious community; the other, “horizontal”, comes from our time,
our contemporaries. It is the latter which, in my view, is more
determining, and is more so each day that goes by”.[8]
Mobility, for its own characteristic of bringing places and cultures closer,
operates as an engine of cultural contamination. Mobility is also
understood as a will of search, of invention, of coping with the
difficulties of life and the mysteries of thought. Mobility, I might dare to
say, as an active practice close to philosophy and its exploratory sense.
The journey, the act of discovering through displacement itself,
becomes a necessary tool of knowledge. According to the reporter,
traveler and writer Ryszard Kapuscinski: “Herodotus knows that in order
to get to know Others one must take to the road, reach them, manifest
readiness to make contact; and that is why he continually travels (…)

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he wants to get to know Others since he understands that in order to
get to know yourself better you must get acquainted with the
Others”.[9]
The writer and sociologist Fatima Mernissi reinforces that idea of travel
as a source of wealth, remembering the words of travelers, writers and
poets of the ninth century: “For Jahiz, the Adab strategy, to empower
oneself by “adding the stranger’s brain to one’s own”, implies that you
avoid getting stuck in your hometown and force yourself to travel:
“Staying too long at home is one of the causes of poverty. Movement
creates prosperity”, he recommends in his Book of Metropolises and
Wonders of the World (Kitab al Amsar wa ‘ajaib al buldan). It is this key
idea of Jahiz’s Adab strategy, of travelling far to communicate with the
stranger and make yourself useful to him by exchanging goods, which
was celebrated by poets of the Abbasid court like Syrian-born Abu
Tammam (804-846 AD/188-231 AH) “Travel! It is the only way to
renew yourself!” he chanted in Baghdad streets”.[10]
Cultural mobility is therefore thought as a way of renewal, as the
antithesis to the superficial and affluent tourism, as an antidote to the
collective cultural homogenization and levelling.
Mobility is revealed and determined as a matter of social impact; as an
urban, local, regional and international regeneration; as a learning tool
and as an instrument of cultural diplomacy.
One of the most interesting aspects of contemporary cultural mobility is
undoubtedly the one referring to artists’ residencies, as well as the
different types of exchanges between creators, researchers and centers
of art and culture worldwide.[11] As stated by Soline Daccache, in the
publication Made in the MED: “Artistic and cultural exchanges are, in my
view, the best way to initiate dialogue and to bring civilisations closer
together. Artistic residencies, workshops, festivals, seminars, fora… are
the means by which we meet one another, know each other better,
widen our horizons, strengthen our network and train ourselves”.[12]
To be mobile is to explore the plurality of self, the presence of others in
themselves -remembering the famous expression “Je est un autre”, by
the French poet Rimbaud– to stimulate the value of diversity and
difference, as well as to recognize and to question models, obstacles,
limitations, contradictions and inner paradoxes of mobility.

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.
Texts and Artworks. Collaboration and Participation.
The special issue presented here could not have existed without the
enthusiastic proposals and responses from artists, critics, researchers
and cultural practitioners, whose participation and contributions have
generated new ideas and will certainly feed the debate on the many
aspects related to art and mobility. First and foremost, I want to thank
all the authors and artists who, with their texts and artworks,
participate in the publication.
The issues, questions and topics addressed are many, among others:
The intrinsic relationship of mobility with cultural diversity, intercultural
dialogue and the development of identity; the increasingly important
phenomena that are linked to migration, displacement, exile and
diaspora; the reflection on the obstacles that exist around mobility,
borders and Visa issues; the multiple aspects of artistic residencies
addressed through diverse points of view: the personal experience, the
critical reflection, the question of hospitality, exchange and interaction,
the social impact of the phenomenon, the development of virtual
residencies and virtual mobility, etc.; the interest and concern for the
issues of sustainability, responsibility and eco-mobility; the nomadism
and the intrinsic mobility that exist in the performative practices,
theater and circus; the mobile aspects of translation and language;
many issues related to the aesthetics of mobility; the relationship
between cinema, critics and mobility; the issue of mobility and cultural
policies.
The specificity of this edition lies also in the communion of critical texts
and artistic projects. Here theory and practice, textual criticism and
visual creation go together. A formal and visual peculiarity that relies on
the potential of the digital and derives from a conscious choice of the
InterArtive editorial committee. For this particular issue I have to thank
the constant editorial assistance of Christina Grammatikopoulou and
Marisa Gómez in all the phases of the project.
A special thanks is addressed to the partners with whom we have
shared the project. I want to warmly thank the Roberto Cimetta Fund,
On the Move, the Delfina Foundation, the Institute of Leisure Studies at

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the University of Deusto and ENCATC for their support and for their
invaluable contributions. To work in a network is an important
component and an unavoidable necessity of our contemporary times.
The results, the value and the dissemination of this project assume a
seal of quality above all thanks to the participation of professionals
whose work and commitment have long been focused on the theme of
art and mobility.
__
In conclusion, to discuss and to reflect on mobility begins with having
an experience related to it, because the boundary between theory and
practice is hybrid and subtle.
In order to go into depth on the relationship between art, culture and
mobility, it is important to create a continuous reflection and an active
and ongoing exchange of information. Mobility begins before
“movement” and continues later, through contact and the development
of exchange networks useful to activate new projects and new ideas.
It is increasingly necessary to develop a “mobile thinking” – not stuck in
immovable categories – in order to raise new questions, to develop new
knowledge and to re-imagine new horizons. Mobility is a growing reality
that we all have to face, explore, investigate and improve.
.
Herman Bashiron Mendolicchio holds a PhD in “Art History, Theory
and Criticism” from the University of Barcelona.
ENDNOTES:
[1] Check the European Commission / Culture: Mobility of artists and
culture professionals. Online: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/our-policy-
development/skills-and-mobility/mobility-of-culture-
professionals_en.htm [Accessed: 20, September, 2013].
[2] The most important online library on artistic and cultural mobility
can be found here: http://on-the-move.org/librarynew/ [Accessed: 20,

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September, 2013].
[3] Some examples: On the Move, European cities and cultural mobility:
Trends and support actions. (2013). Online: http://on-the-
move.org/files/; Roberto Cimetta Fund, International Artistic Mobility
and Territorial Diplomacy. (2012). Online:
http://www.cimettafund.org/content/upload/file/Report.Seminar.24.5.1
2.en.pdf; ERICarts, Mobility Matters – Programmes and Schemes to
Support the Mobility of Artists and Other Cultural Professionals. (2008).
Online: http://www.mobility-matters.eu/web/index.php [Accessed: 20,
September, 2013].
[4] Check the Project: Istikshaf: Exploring Mobility in the
Mediterranean. More info: http://istikshaf.org/content/about-istikshaf
and http://www.cimettafund.org/article/index/rubrique/1/lang/en/id/3
[Accessed: 20, September, 2013].
[5] Platform meeting of Asian and European cultural mobility funders.
More Info: http://on-the-
move.org/about/ourownnews/article/15512/platform-meeting-of-asian-
and-european-cultural/; and: Bashiron Mendolicchio, Herman,
“Exchanging Visions and Experiences on Mobility. Exploring the Asia-
Europe connection”, Culture360. 3rd
July 2013.
Online: http://culture360.org/magazine/exchanging-visions-and-
experiences-on-mobility-exploring-the-asia-europe-connection/
[Accessed: 20, September, 2013].
[6] Among the most popular networks of creative residencies is
necessary to mention Res Artis: http://www.resartis.org and Trans
Artists: http://www.transartists.org/ [Accessed: 20, September, 2013].
[7] Check the programme Unpack the Arts. European Residency
Programme for Cultural Journalists. Online: http://unpackthearts.eu/
[Accessed: 20, September, 2013].
[8] Maalouf, Amin, “The Challanges of Interculturality in the
Mediterranean”, Quaderns de la Mediterrània, nº14. IEMed – Barcelona,
2012. Online:
http://www.iemed.org/publicacions/quaderns/14/qm14_pdf/13.pdf
[Accessed: 20, September, 2013].

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[9] Kapuscinski, Ryszard, The Other [Ten Inny], Kraków: Znak, 2006 p.
14.
[10] Mernissi, Fatima, “Adab or Allying with the Stranger as the
Strategy to Win the Globalised Planet”, Quaderns de la Mediterrània,
nº14. IEMed – Barcelona, 2012. Online:
http://www.iemed.org/publicacions/quaderns/14/qm14_pdf/16.pdf
[Accessed: 20, September, 2013].
[11] More Info: Gardner, S. (ed.) 2013 ‘International Perspectives on
Artist Residencies’, D’Art Topics in Arts Policy, no. 45, International
Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies, Sydney. Online:
http://media.ifacca.org/files/DArt45ResidenciesMay2013.pdf; and:
Cezar, Aaron (ed.) “Residencies”, The ArteEast Quarterly (Winter/2012).
Online: http://www.arteeast.org/2012/02/28/january-2012-residencies/
[Accessed: 20, September, 2013].
[12] Daccache, Soline, “Mobility to do What?”. In: Made In the
MEDiterranean. The challenges of artistic exchange in the
Mediterranean. Roberto Cimettta Fund – Fondation René Seydoux.
2007. P. 21.