Migration/Home
Migration/Home is a public artwork organized by Brattleboro artist Jonathan Gitelson to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of The Declaration of Independence. Gitelson commissioned the work from members of Brattleboro’s resettled refugee community, including several members of the ArtLords, a mural collective founded in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2014. The featured artists are Marwa Safa Azimi, Butunga Bibimba, Abdullah Elhan, Sean Kiziltan, and Zuhra Nadem.
The piece consists of seven panels connected by themes of displacement, migration, and home. Imbued with cultural references, each panel functions as an individual piece and as an element of the larger work.
In a nation founded by colonization, it is impossible to extract the idea of immigrants from the idea of Americans. Migration/Home draws from artistic traditions such as Persian miniature paintings, calligraphy, and poetry; Pashto poetry; Congolese embroidery; and abstract art. Just as American culture is influenced by the traditions and practices of immigrant communities, this work creates a new visual language from its combination of artistic genres.
The concepts of migration and home are especially complex when people are forced to flee a beloved homeland to reach safety, only to find new perils and persecution in the country where they land. This artwork depicts that complexity and shows us what it looks like today to join the 250-year-old tradition of seeking home in the United States.
This project was made possible by the support of the Cohen Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College, and a Spark! Connecting Community grant from the Vermont Community Foundation.
Learn more about the artworks on view
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July 11, Saturday, 5 p.m. — Opening of New Exhibits
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