‘Urban Encounters 2014: Movements/Mobilities/Migrations’ (London)

This year’s Urban Encounters symposium looks at the visual manifestations and effects of movement, mobility and migration on the historic and contemporary city. Over two days, an international line up of artists, academics, and researchers reflect on the nature of flow and flux through and between city spaces with a variety of topics including economic mobility, labour movements, borders, and the migration of things and people.

In addition to a series of panels and presentations, this year’s symposium features half a day of workshops, seminars and walks, led by speakers and organisers. Participants will be contacted closer to the event to select from these activities.

The series of panels focuses on the experiences of people and communities, built and architectural environments, urban landscapes, performativity and how material cultures reflect the possibilities and challenges that redefine how we understand the changing faces of everyday urban life. The workshops, seminars and walks provide a more intimate context through which to directly explore and discuss the ideas and themes of the symposium.

This symposium is of particular interest to photographers, artists, film-makers, architects, sociologists, geographers and social researchers whose work addresses notions of social change and the decentring of urban life within an age of expanding globalisation and changing geographic boundaries.

Participants include Bradley Garrett, Paul Halliday, Prof Bill Marshall, Jennifer Bajorek,  Paul Goodwin, Adam Kaasa, Xavier Ribas, Lia Chavez, David Kendall, Charlotte Cullinan and Jeanine Richards, as well as a keynote address on Friday by internationally renowned photographer, artist and director Nadav Kander.