Activities > 2009 > Migrant Tales
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11 - 20 December 2009
65 Kerbau Road
Organised for International Migrants’ Day on December 18, Migrant Tales is a partnership with TWC2 and H.O.M.E, with the support of the Lee Foundation and sponsorship from Bakery Depot for the opening.
Featuring some 20 audio interviews, this is the first ever attempt to record and archive the stories of transient workers in 21st century Singapore. The oral archival project is the collective effort of 30 Migrant Voices volunteers, who spent the past three months interviewing, recording and filming the stories of male migrant workers from India, Bangladesh, China and Thailand, and female migrant workers from Indonesia and the Philippines.
The multi-dimensional exhibition also features photography and object and video installations, all of which are meant to cultivate a deeper understanding in us of the different groups of migrant workers here, by presenting their belongings, voices and stories.
The interviews and stories featured will be published online. Our aim is to make accessible the experiences and perspectives of migrant workers, to portray them as individuals with stories to share, not just as “foreign workers” toiling away in construction sites or in homes.
Apart from the interviews, a documentary commissioned for this exhibition called "Confluence of Lands" was also premiered.In Singapore’s Little India, a small minimart on Desker Road offers a moment of insight into the stories and hopes of different migrants. Through the minimart, we encounter the struggles, hopes and everyday lives of members of Singapore’s very diverse migrant workforce: their dreams of making a new life for their families, the challenges of migrating to Singapore, and the small pleasures that can be found in the company of friends. The film is available for private screening upon request.
This is only the first in a series of exhibitions we hope to do with the interviews we've gathered. In fact, we only managed to put up about 50% of the interviews we gathered and the interviews are still going on.
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