Foreign Land

Foreign Land explores the theme of migration. An urgent topic in today’s heated social debate, in which the human perspective disappears from view. Foreign Land highlights the theme of migration through the eyes of artists who themselves have a history of migration or are part of a diaspora. Why do people travel across continents? What does it mean to be uprooted or to live between different cultures? In a time of conflicts and wars over land and a lost sense of personal connection, Foreign Land seeks a way back to empathy, openness and solidarity.

Art and science
The exhibition aims to make the experience of migration tangible, through work by artists Susanne Khalil Yusef, Benjamin Li, Anthony Ngoya and Abul Hisham. Around these works, scholars from different backgrounds will share their perspectives on the topic in a public program. Art highlights human experience, while science approaches the theme objectively. By bringing together different perspectives from art and science, Foreign Land aims to make a constructive contribution to the social debate on migration. With VU Amsterdam as one of the most diverse universities in the Netherlands, we believe it is important to keep nuancing the conversation about this theme.