CONTEMPORARY VISUAL ARTS DEALING with the PHENOMENON of MIGRATION and THEIR ROLE in RAISING UP REFUGEES' ISSUES

Abstract

Irregular migration originated in Europe as a socioeconomic issue; it gradually transformed, as fl ows of irregular refugees escalated, into a primarily political security issue, a dilemma that has affected many European countries starting from 2011, to emerge as a contentious issue for the European Union, which has become divided against the escalating phenomenon of fl ow of irregular refugees into Europe. This fl ow has been a rich material for addressing, observing and analysis in various fi elds of humanities and arts. Images of the in fl ux of refugees ' spread all over the world ' s newspapers, social media, and television screens; it has also become a reason for artists to react to this phenomenon and its human problems around the world and to carry out visual and mural treatments that may sensitize people to the refugee ' s suffering in his/her homeland as well as throughout their journey. Therefore, through what has come to be known as the ‘ art of migration, ’ this paper will review and analyze some visual arts, but especially graf fi ti and mural arts dealing with the fl ow of migrants issue, especially from the Middle East toward the West, while aiming to highlight the contemporary visual arts that speak up on behalf of the others concerning urgent human issues and bringing them up to societies.