In the first year of the project, IM International organized several social, political, and artistic actions. The first Sunday of every month we held Make a Movement, a day dedicated to carrying out actions related to cultural enrichment and reflection on immigration pressing issues.
IM International put on several major events. In the spring of 2011, we hosted a Conversation on Useful Art featuring panel discussions with artists and a group discussion with the community.
IM International announced an open call for artists around the world to respond to the Migrant Manifesto by taking action on December 18th, International Migrants Day. There was an overwhelming response, with more than 200 artists participating worldwide. On December 18th, IM International also participated in a joint action with Occupy Wall Street’s working group on immigration.
These actions highlighted the fact that human migration is an increasingly central phenomenon of contemporary global existence, asserting and promoting the fundamental human rights and dignity of migrants and their families.
We are looking at economic models to expand our Women’s Health Program by creating a small business with the women in our community, guarantying their economic freedom.
In 2013 IM International will begin to exist as an open source while keeping the Corona Headquarters. The project has become a long-term project intended to create a lasting, global movement. Over the next few years, we expect the project to grow by establishing small “cells” and collective actions in various cities around the world, empowering migrants and taking on a unique form in each location, according to the specificity of the local social and political conditions.
IM International will be collaborating with the Queens Museum of Art and the Van Abbe Museum on a project about Arte Util.
- IM International is a community space where practical knowledge is merged with creative knowledge through arte útil with a holistic approach to education open to all regardless of legal status.
- IM International is a think tank that recognizes (im)migrant’s role in the advancement of society at large and envisions a different legal reality for human migration.
- IM International is a lab practicing artivist tactics and new tools for communication in the public sphere to access political dialogue in an effort to transform social affect into political effectiveness.
- IM International is an educational platform formulating sustainability systems and creating alternative economies based on a culture of reciprocity not economic advantage.