Foreigners Everywhere

Foreigners Everywhere

For 2024, the MNMF has selected “Foreigners Everywhere” as a curatorial thesis for video art, performance, and site-specific installations.

This year, the Miami New Media Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary from the first festival’s projection in Venezuela in 2004. The celebration started with a special edition in the context of the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, at the “Personal Structures” exhibition organized by the European Cultural Centre (ECC) in Venice from April 20th until November 24th, 2024, in Palazzo Bembo. The celebration will continue in Miami with our traditional event in the fall season, with indoor and outdoor exhibitions of video art pieces selected through an open-call process. These events will happen in Miami between October and December 2024.

This year, the curatorial theme recalls the Biennial’s “Foreigners Everywhere” theme. We live in moments where cultural identity, globalization, and displacement are mixed realities for many people worldwide. Our city, Miami, is a cultural melting pot, and our communities face daily situations that are the product of this reality. Miami’s foundations are built on the shoulders of migrants, immigrants, and displaced communities, many of which, in the long term, end up merging and becoming “Miamians.” For that reason, our rich and nourishing cultural environment is a great example of how our complex and diverse world is becoming.

Art can be a powerful tool for discussing tolerance, inclusion, and diversity, three elements our multicultural communities need daily. Art can help to express emotions, connect with others, and find meaning in difficult times. New media art can inspire artists and community members to find common ground and take action to make a difference in the world. 

Consequently, the MNMF calls artists to produce video artworks about their thoughts on “Foreigners Everywhere.”  The goal is to encourage the Miami community to generate a conversation about new media art as a powerful tool for foreigners’ cultural integration.

MNMF 2024 will bring to Miami new perspectives about immigration and cultural displacement through the selected artists’ views. The participant artists and the Miami community will have an opportunity to think about this topic, understand present times, and be part of the fabric of an inclusive future.