Stories of Migrant Women

What this photographic documentary is all about

Being the migratory flow is made up mainly of men, the female reality is told marginally and never by the direct interested parties.

To counter the hatred climate generated by a one-way narration, I aimed to leave women protagonists of this phenomenon to be free to take part of the discourse as they feel right.
Giving a name and a face is not enough, we must learn to know and listen to them.

This photographic reportage has been developed from a personal feminist perspective as an artist where I perceive my role to be functionary; For me is important to process feelings and to create a space of awareness and empathy in order to break down barriers of race, sex and social class, in contrast to the climate of hate generated by the rise of the far-right and populist parties in Italy this diversity is presented as wealth.

In collaboration with local realities, NGOs and institutions, I explored the faces, traces, and spaces of the female community hosted in Palermo, Mineo, and Scicli (South Sicily).

Throughout my pictures, I wanted to facilitate new knowledge in contrast to the narrative which says that the migratory phenomenon is one that arises out of opportunism.

With the goal of producing useful knowledge both locally and internationally.
The research material consists of audio recordings (the stories of the women I met) and photographs.
I hope with this research to contribute to the social and cultural debate and let the women I have met would do the same.

The female matter is an issue for civilisation – it goes beyond every boundary, it is an international issue and affects all countries of the world. The story of exploitation of the female body is long: it is one of sexism and racism – the battlefield is always the woman’s body.

The belief behind this first photo project is the practical and theoretical international feminism, as the only possible way to break the double chains that still, in 2018, affect women all over the world.
Each woman has her own reason to migrate, every country has its own characteristics and crises that lead people to face the journey, but all have points in common related to being a woman who makes the difficult choice to expose her life to the risks of migration by sea or by land.

I propose a series of photographs and a written publication with the stories of the women I met.
An audio installation with recordings of the experiences told by the protagonists will accompany the offline exposure of the photographic series.

www.storiesofmigrantwomen.com