Watch the Med: Migrant Struggles on the EU’s Maritime Frontier

Join us for a workshop and a dialogue about migrant struggles on the EU’s maritime frontier. Collaborating together since 2011, Charles Heller and Lorenzo Pezzani have sought to develop new methodologies to contest the violence of borders and enable more freedom of movement across the maritime frontier. In 2011, Heller and Pezzani co-founded Forensic Oceanography, a collaborative project that has developed innovative methodologies to document the conditions that lead to migrants’ deaths at sea. Their reports have contributed to strategic litigations and intervened in ongoing debates concerning the effects of EU migration policies. In 2012, they also launched the WatchTheMed platform, a tool enabling nongovernmental actors to exercise a critical right to look at the EU’s maritime frontier, and contributed to initiate in 2014 the WatchTheMed Alarmphone project, a 24/7 emergency line supporting migrants crossing the sea. More info on WatchTheMed: http://watchthemed.net Two events: 1) ‘mapping workshop’ facilitated by Michael Hardt and Sandro Mezzadra – Thursday, April 12th, 1pm-2pm 2) ‘dialogue’ with Charles Heller and Lorenzo Pezzani (via Skype) – Monday, April 16th, 12pm-1pm (*lunch provided for the dialogue session*) In preparation for the mapping workshop, please read: “Liquid Traces: Investigating the Deaths of Migrants at the EU’s Maritime Frontier” – https://www.academia.edu/12772028/Liquid_Traces_Investigating_the_Deaths_of_Migrants_at_the_EU_s_Maritime_Frontier On the emergence of the Alarmphone project: “Disobedient Sensing and Border Struggles at the Maritime Frontier of EUrope” – https://www.academia.edu/33747764/Disobedient_Sensing_and_Border_Struggles_at_the_Maritime_Frontier_of_EUrope Location: Social Movements Lab, Franklin Humanities Institute, Smith Warehouse, Bay 5, Duke University, 114 S. Buchanan Blvd., Durham, NC For Parking and Accessibility info, see: https://fhi.duke.edu/contact-us Bios : Charles Heller is a researcher and filmmaker whose work has a long-standing focus on the politics of migration. In 2015, he completed a Ph.D. in Research Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he continues to be affiliated as a research fellow, focusing on the politics of mobility across the Mediterranean Sea. He is currently conducting a postdoctoral research supported by the Swiss National Fund (SNF) at the Graduate Institute, Geneva and the University of Bologna. Lorenzo Pezzani is an architect and researcher. In 2015, he completed a Ph.D. in Research Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London, where he is currently Lecturer and leads the MA studio in Forensic Architecture. His work deals with the spatial politics and visual cultures of migration, with a particular focus on the geography of the ocean. Working together since 2011, Heller and Pezzani co-founded Forensic Oceanography, a collaborative project that has developed innovative methodologies to document the conditions that lead to migrants’ deaths at sea. They also launched the WatchTheMed platform, a tool enabling nongovernmental actors to exercise a critical right to look at the EU’s maritime frontier. They have authored a number of human rights reports, including the “Report on the Left-to-Die Boat” (2012); the “Death by Rescue” (2016) report; and the “Blaming the Rescuers” (2017) report, all of which have had a major impact both within the fields of migration and border studies, nongovernmental politics and the public sphere. Based on their empirical analysis, they have lectured internationally and generated a number of theoretically innovative articles published in several edited volumes and published articles in a number of international journals such as Cultural Studies, Postcolonial Studies, the Revue Européenne des Migrations Internationales, ACME, Spheres, Global Media and Communication, Philosophy of Photography, New Geographies and the Harvard Design Magazine. Their videos “Liquid Traces” (2014) and “Death by Rescue” (2016) and “Mare Clausum” (2018) have been exhibited internationally, including at the HKW, the Venice Biennale, the MACBA and the MOMA and the ICA.