RESEARCH PROJECTS

Below is a list of both current and past research projects carried out by members of the Migration SIG. By highlighting these initiatives, we try to indicate the different approaches to the study of migration art.

DIGITAL ATLAS OF POLISH THEATRICAL HERITAGE ABROAD

(NPRH/DN/SP/0040/2023/12, University of Łódź, 2023–...)

Led by Karolina Prykowska-Michalak

Researchers: Dorota Buchwald, Piotr Horbatowski, Izabela Grabarczyk, Dorota Kołodziejczyk, Joanna Kosmalska, Janusz Legoń, Natalie Moreno-Kamińska, Martynas Petrikas, Daria Skjoldager-Nielsen, Aleksandra Różalska, Eliza Szymańska

The aim of the project is to document the theatrical life of Polish communities outside Poland by creating a digital atlas—a dynamic, interactive database connected to the Encyclopaedia of Polish Theatre. This tool will allow researchers, artists and the public to explore Polish theatre abroad and keep the atlas growing over time. The research highlights the diversity of Polish theatrical heritage, including performances by émigré and diaspora organisations, individual artists and Polish groups in historically Polish regions that are now outside the country. By capturing these stories, the project preserves a vital part of Poland’s cultural legacy for future generations.

THEATRICAL HERITAGE OF POLISH MIGRANTS

(NdS/538415/2021/2022, University of Łódź, 2022–2025)

Led by Karolina Prykowska-Michalak

Researchers: Izabela Grabarczyk, Dorota Kołodziejczyk, Joanna Kosmalska, Daria Skjoldager-Nielsen, Aleksandra Różalska

This project explored the theatre created by Polish migrants in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States after 1989, examining it as a continuation of Polish cultural heritage. The research focused on how Polish migrant theatre brought together multiple artistic elements—space and stage design, language and drama, music and movement—making it a rich area for interdisciplinary study. By combining insights from theatre studies, cultural studies, literature, linguistics, art history and sociology, the project aimed to capture the full scope of this vibrant cultural phenomenon. The study looked at all forms of theatrical activity, from professional productions to amateur performances, including shows and other creative performances organised by migrant associations, artistic groups and individual theatre practitioners.

POLISH MIGRATION LITERATURE IN BRITAIN AND IRELAND SINCE 2004

(DEC-2011/01/B/HS2/05120, University of Łódź, 2011–2015)

Led by Joanna Kosmalska and Jerzy Jarniewicz

Researchers: Mieczysław Dąbrowski, Tomasz Dobrogoszcz, Borbála Faragó, Elwira M. Grossman, Kris Van Heuckelom, Dorota Kołodziejczyk, Anna Kronenberg, Michael Parker, Declan Kiberd, Joanna Rostek, Joanna Ślósarska, Cristina Şandru, Dirk Uffelmann, Małgorzata Zduniak

This international, multidisciplinary project, which was funded by the National Science Centre, examined the literary works of Polish authors who migrated to Britain and Ireland after 2004. It examined how migration shaped the authors' writing and how their experiences were reflected in literature and culture.

The key findings were published in a special issue of Teksty Drugie entitled “Migrant Literature” (2018) and presented in the Virtual Archive: Migrations in Literature and Culture. The archive consited of three main sections: Literature (featuring over 100 books depicting contemporary Polish migration, authors' biographies, and descriptions of Polish literary groups and publishing houses in the UK and Ireland); Culture (focusing on representations of Polish migrants in film and theatre); and Critical Texts (showcasing academic studies, interviews with writers and book reviews). Although the Archive was primarily intended as a research resource for scholars of cultural and literary studies, sociology and political science, it also promoted Polish migration literature and culture to a wider audience.

ArtsLab on Migration and Displacement in Arts&Humanities Research

(University of Glasgow)

Led by Mirna Šolić and Elwira Grossman

Lab on Migration is an inclusive and all-encompassing research environment for scholars working on the theme of migration and displacement in arts and humanities, with the breadth and diversity of knowledge to explore what is likely to be one of the defining issues of our era.

Pathologies of Violence (PATHOS):Inscriptions of Global Conflict in Irish Artistic Practice 1922-present

(Mary Immaculate College)

Led by Ailbhe McDaid

Researchers: Julie Morrissy, Leah Smith

PATHOS is a research project which documents the development of global ethical citizenship in Irish art and writing over the past one hundred years. The project situates Irish artistic practice in a global context by considering how international conflict reach Irish shores.

PATHOS considers how international events register in Irish cultural practice, and asks what does this indicate about changing Irish identities? Since independence, Ireland has responded to global conflict through political, military and humanitarian action. In the current context of unprecedented conflict and displacement, this timely project will deliver a fuller understanding of the significance of global conflict in shaping Irish society.

Children’s picture books about migration: Multimodal analysis and applicability to multicultural and multilingual environments

(PID2021-124786OB-I00, University of Salamanca, 2022-2025)

Led by Izaskun Elroza and Carmen Santamaría

Researchers: Laura Alba-Juez, Evelyn Arizpe, Maria Bîrlea, Cristina Cañamares Torrijos, Isabel Córdoba Párraga, Antonio García-Gómez, Amanda Ellen Gerke, Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk, María Martínez Lirola, Roberto Martínez Mateo, Virginia Mattioli, Mark Mcglashan, Vasilica Mocanu, Jesús Moya-Guijarro, María Jesús Pinar, María Begoña Ruiz Cordero, Len Unsworth, Agata Żelachowska

In today’s multicultural society, picture books on migration can have a great pedagogical value for inclusive education, that is, education offering the same real learning opportunities to all children, including groups who have traditionally been excluded, such as migrant children. This project arises from the need to investigate the mechanisms of discursive construction on migration in picture books, considering their complexity as texts that combine visual and verbal resources. As specific purposes of the project, the research project focuses on (1) the exploration of visual and verbal resources that writers and illustrators use to narrate migration and how these resources are used to communicate a message with a particular effect, and (2) assessment of the level of representativeness of migrant characters in our context in relation to cultural and linguistic diversity.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse