ENTRY CLEARANCE

Contribution by Branko Milisković

July 2015

Branko Milisković, Misplaced Man? performance, Aberdeen Airport, UK, October 29, 2015. “Misplaced Man?” sign, and the photo: Amy Bryzgel

Two months ago I received an e-mail from Dr Amy Bryzgel, an US-American art historian and researcher, living and working in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, whom I met in Belgrade, Serbia in July 2013, and gave an interview about my performance practice for her upcoming book Performing East. Since then, we were in occasional e-mail contacts and I have also included part of her text about my work in a catalogue for my solo exhibition ATTENTION! HERE I AM (Nov/Dec 2014, G12HUB). Amy’s invitation to participate in a conference about performance art at the University of Aberdeen in October 2015 made me surprised and flattered since I’ve never been to UK before. The entire arrangement sounded almost perfect. My travel, lodging and artist wage would be provided, so what more an artist could ask for? 

I knew there would be some obstacles regarding my UK visa, therefor instead of negotiating about the conference and performance, we had to start working through the entry clearance procedure for UK visa straight away. Amy told me that she is going to write a letter of invitation, stating the exact reason for my travel. The very first issue we faced was, what kind of visa I would need to apply for? Since I was invited to give a performance/talk and get payed for that job, I would need to choose between the variety of possible visas, and after a short period of time, we both confirmed it would definitely be so called Permitted Engagement Visa. The entire negotiation with Amy turned into an administration, passing through all possible bureaucratic requirements, constantly doubting and guessing weather some requirement would mean exactly and strictly as stated or would there be any way to avoid it and make the entire process less stressful. The main problem was not the fact that I have to apply strictly online. I am internet maniac and have no issues filling in the forms and answering even the most hideous questions. My biggest concern was how to obtain some of the paper work. I’ve already done various visa procedures and numerous applications in the past and eventually survived all of them. I used to live in the Netherlands for three years and in Germany for four and have been travelling across Europe, to Russia and Israel and have never violated any immigration rules. My passport is full of different visas and border control stamps and I never received any penalty nor restriction. While I was waiting to receive an official letter of invitation from the University of Aberdeen there was one major issue causing my anxiety to grow bigger and bigger. It was the money issue. Now everybody would think, ok what’s the problem if all expenses would be covered by the organiser, in this case, by the University of Aberdeen, right? According to the list of important requirements and documents that should be obtained, there was a requirement that each applicant should provide the bank statements for the period of last six months. My problem was the fact that being a freelance artist, I don’t have regular monthly income that could be proven via bank statements. Therefore I immediately failed to fulfil this main visa requirement, to show that I am professional artist. I also failed to show that I would have enough money on my bank account to support my trip and daily costs in Aberdeen, even though all my expenses would be covered. I would consider myself being professional artist with various engagements, but in other hand, underemployed with no regular income, no valuable possessions, no long term bank credits to insure that I will definitely return to the country of origin, no driver licence nor car, no real estate on my name, no fixed employment. I am not married and have no children. Clearly enough I am so free, like a bloody sparrow, and therefore the most suspicious applicant. Their biggest fear is that I might use this opportunity and immigrate, sucking on UK public money, residing illegally somewhere in the countryside. In order to ask for some support, Amy and I separately contacted Serbian Embassy in London and nobody ever responded to our inquiries. We didn’t ask for any particular help, just a written letter of support from the embassy, which should be supporting and representing its people, culture and politics abroad, right? I have also contacted British Council in Belgrade and asked the same question. Nobody ever responded. 

August 19, 2015

Two days ago I finally received the official letter of invitation from the University of Aberdeen, and as soon as I saw it in my post box, I went immediately to print out my application form and to finish the rest. I thought it would be no big deal just to print it out, pay an application fee by debit card and book an appointment. But it was all very confusing since the beginning. I filed in my application form, and the next step was the payment. On the official webpage of UKVI it was stated that the fee would be €121,00, but once I started my payment procedure it turned out to be €126,00. I was not sure how much money I was holding on my debit card. Once I submitted my application form online I was informed by a server that I have only three hours to complete the payment, otherwise everything will be lost and I would have to start the application procedure all over again. I rushed to the local bank to put some extra cash on my bank account, to make sure there is enough. I was cuing over an hour in the bank and returned to the office to finally complete the payment. It was so frustrating, I just couldn’t believe that UKVI was counting my time. 

On August 19, I had my UKVI appointment at Teleperformance agency at the Airport City in New Belgrade. I arrived well in advance caring with me a bag full of art books, catalogues and press material as well as the entire application documents including my passport. I got inside and there was nobody except me and some employees at the time. Soon, I was invited to come in, expecting that they are going to interview me, asking all possible questions. However, they only collected my documents, checked if everything is in order, and when I asked what am I going to do with all the books and catalogues I was advised to bring for consideration, they just told me that their job is only to collect my paperwork including my passport, take my fingerprints, scan my eyries and send everything to Warsaw where UK visa hub is based. They told me that I will be waiting for 15 working days or 21 days in total, but that period also can’t be guaranteed. It means it can take even longer depending on each case individually. I left the office totally squashed and puzzled. 

September 2, 2015

Today is the 10th business day since my UK visa application has been submitted. I just can’t explain how terrible and frustrating the entire process is. One of the most irritant things is that awful feeling that you are unable to get information regarding your visa status. Nobody knows for sure, or nobody wants to tell you. My passport has been literary confiscated since August 19 and still I don’t have any precise information when the entire process will be done and how long it will take for my passport to be delivered back. In the meantime I was invited to come to Berlin for a festival and I already booked my flight for September 12. 

This is how an automatic answer by UKVI looks like:

Dear Branko Miliskovic,

Thank you for contacting the UK Visas and Immigration International Enquiry Service. With regard to your query, please be advised, we can only provide general information as well as updates on the status of an application. We act in a non advisory capacity. We understand that you would like to know about the status of your application to come to the UK.

I have tracked the status of your application and found that it is waiting to be assessed by an Entry Clearance Officer. We will contact you once a decision has been made or, if necessary, during the consideration of your application.

Each application is subject to an individual assessment and processing times may vary, hence applicants are requested to be patient and wait for the processing to be completed. 

You can check how long you will have to wait for a decision on your visa application in your country (if you applied from outside the UK) by entering your details at the following link: ttps://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about/about-our-services However, please note that actual processing times may vary depending on a range of factors.

We have service level standards for processing UK visa applications. We will process 90% of non-settlement applications within 3 weeks, 98% within 6 weeks and 100% within 12 weeks of the application (biometric taken) date; and 95% of settlement applications within 12 weeks of the biometric taken date and 100% within 24 weeks of the application (biometric taken) date.

Please note that we define 1 week as 5 working days. For any further details, or should you need to contact us again please refer to our website at https://ukvi-international.faq-help.com/, select appropriate country, click next and then select “E-Mail form” and complete as instructed. We will aim to come back to you within 1 day.

Kind regards,

Scott

UK Visas and Immigration International Enquiry Service

September 5, 2015

There is one thing that makes me very upset. It’s a completely impersonal system, dealing via third part agencies, such as Teleperformance, so if you go to the UK embassy they will tell you that they are not dealing with visas so you have to go through the agency to submit your documents including a passport, pay the fee in advance and hope it will be ready within three weeks time. The problem is that they give you a period of three weeks only as a statistic information but that also DOESN’T mean that your documents and passport will be returned during that period of time. All means of communication are incredibly obscure and automatically generated, even the calls. You are going to talk with an automat for as long as possible and you will be charged a fortune. I mean, to be completely honest, even if you commit a crime, you are allowed to engage a lawyer and have presumably a fair trial, right? Here, you are not allowed to complain, you can’t talk to anybody except the person working at the entrance of Teleperformance agency and that person knows nothing, or is it just a part of the game. So whatever you are going to ask, you are not going to get any precise and concrete informations. If you ask how long it will take for a passport to be delivered, she/he will tell you, it MAY take about three days. But no, that clearly doesn’t mean it will be there even the forth day. They always say, you will be contacted by your local Teleperformance office. 

My passport is out of my hands and I terribly depend on their mercy. It blows my mind! It’s my passport, my only travel document! I might be able to understand that I have to give my passport away if I am already in UK applying to extend my residence permit, but since I am not even there and I am not applying for any settlement or study visa, I DON’T WANT TO BE DETAINED IN MY OWN COUNTRY BY SOME OTHER COUNTRY! 

In the last three months I went through a number of very stressful moments. I became very anxious and now I am even facing the approaching moment which may reveal that I won’t be able to travel to Berlin because they won’t be able to return my passport back in time.

It can’t be sure whether the visa will be granted to me or not.

It can’t be sure how long it will take to process my visa request.

It can’t be sure when my passport will be returned. 

I am afraid it can’t be even sure if the passport will be returned, at all. 

The entire procedure is shameful and humiliating. It’s like a computer game. Several levels and you never know what you may expect when you finish one level. To make the entire situation even more stupid, they have stated that if for any reason one would like to request his/her passport urgently back, it would mean that the entire process will be terminated and application fee will not be refunded. But anyone is encouraged to re-apply at any time. Of course, to pay every time €126,00 or more and to wait endlessly with passport being confiscated. 

I really don’t know what to do if I don’t get my passport before Saturday…

September 8, 2015

Today, surprisingly enough, I received an e-mail stating that my visa request has been accessed giving no information whether I have been rejected or granted. 

Reference: GWFXXXXXXX

Dear MILISKOVIC BRANKO,

UK Visas & Immigration has now assessed your UK visa application and made a decision. Your documents and the decision will be sent back to the either the UK Visa Application Centre where you applied, where we will contact you by e-mail over the next few days to collect them, or if you are using the courier return service, will be sent directly back to the address you provided.

Please note that TLScontact does not know the outcome of the assessment and has played no role in the decision-making process.

Kind regards,

TLScontact

UK Visas & Immigration

September 9, 2015

Today I received another e-mail from UKVI stating:

Dear MILISKOVIC BRANKO,

Your passport and any returned supporting documentation have now arrived back at the TLScontact UK. 

Visa Application Centre.

Collection in Person

I immediately went there to collect my passport as if it was the most important thing in my entire life and it was sealed in a plastic DHL bag. They asked me to sign paper that I have collected my document and they didn’t say anything else. I got out, took my keys, ripped off a plastic bag and opened my passport.

UK visa sticker was finally in my passport !

August 19, 2020

Post Scriptum: Going through this administrative diary, five years later, made me realise how much I was worried about some completely ridiculous details. However, this harsh experience eventually gave me a courage to apply for other visas, such as Canadian and US. 

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Branko Milisković (b.1982, Belgrade, Serbia), Serbian performance artist, studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Belgrade; graduated BFA from Royal Academy of Art, The Hague and MFA from Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Hamburg. His works have been shown at prestigious performance festivals, theatres, galleries, museums and residences in Italy, France, Serbia, Poland, Israel, Croatia, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Austria, Belgium, Russia, Bulgaria, UK, Canada and USA. 

Photo: Blazej Marczak

__________________________________________________________

ENTRY CLEARANCE by Branko Milisković is a contribution by invitation, to Tanja Ostojić’s Misplaced Women? project.

Edited (2015/2020) and first published by: Tanja Ostojić at the Misplaced Women? Project blog, August 30, 2020.

Photos: Branko Milisković, Blazej Marczak and Amy Bryzgel

Please see directly related — Misplaced Man? Performance in Aberdeen Airport – Contribution by Amy Bryzgel to the Misplaced Women? project, October 29, 2015.

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Responses by participants of the Misplaced Women? workshop in Torry, Aberdeen, March 10, 2016

Responses by the participants of the Misplaced Women? workshop in Torry, Aberdeen:

On the 10^th 0f March 2016, I co-organised and participated in the Misplaced Woman? Workshop with Tanja Ostojic. The Misplaced Women? workshop was organised as a part of the Aberdeen Festival of Politics 2016. During the workshop, participants had a chance to meet the artist Tanja Ostojic in a welcoming and casual settings. People could meet each other, share their immigration stories and expectations from the workshop over a cup of tea/ coffee. Then, the group went out to the streets of Torry in Aberdeen to enact the Misplaced Women? delegated performance. The performance involves unpacking of a bag or a suitcase in a public sphere and recalls the everyday experience of immigrants and refugees, but also of people who move from one city to another. It was not my first encounter with the Misplaced Women? performance and to me, as an immigrant, it always is a powerful experience. This time, the workshop Misplaced Women? made me reflect on mothers. On all the women who must juggle between motherhood and personal development or work. I am among these women too. Luckily, events like this with such inspirational and open minded people like Tanja Ostojic, Amy Bryzgel, and Renée Slater lit up my hope that women will have an opportunity to develop their potential as women. We do not need to act as men in order to have equal rights. We need understanding and equal rights to develop our full potential as women. Thank you for understanding and allowing me to bring my son with me and be the co-organiser and participant of this powerful and inspirational event!  ……………………Marta Nitecka Barche

 

 

 

Misplaced Women?

Vulnerable and malleable, Increasingly strong,
Out with hierarchy
I catch my own self.

Resting only on the skin of others Causing warmth to emanate,
I admire the view
Streaming in from all angles.

Discarded, unfolded rush
Takes place in the uncertainty.
Here, there is no such pain
Breathing in the entirety of all I have left.

Turn upper torso in search of the sun, Inside the wealth of abandonment, Increasingly hinders the
Onset of the time.

And in concern of chaos,
My weathered, kneaded soul Takes sanctuary of being, Free from all I own.

………..Angela Margaret Main

 

I really enjoyed the workshop, I felt vulnerable in the moment but I feel like it gave me confidence in my life. My favourite part of the workshop was watching Tanja perform at the bus stop.

………..Sarah Jackson

 

I liked the discussion that came from the workshop that Tanja did. Although I knew the issues surrounding the refugee crisis, I felt that listening to other participants talk was extremely emotional and powerful. You always hear these stories but when it’s right in front of you it isn’t a story any more.

………….Rowan Young

 

For more images and texts about this workshop please visit as well:

https://misplacedwomen.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/misplaced-women-in-torry-aberdeen-festival-of-politics-march-10-2016/

https://misplacedwomen.wordpress.com/2015/06/01/may-festival-aberdeen/

 

This workshop has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the University of Aberdeen and the Aberdeen Trade Union Council.

 

Misplaced Women? in Torry, Aberdeen, Festival of Politics, March 10, 2016.

Misplaced Women? banner by Marta Nitecka Barche

Text by Caroline Gausden:

As a part of the Aberdeen Festival of Politics 2016, the Misplaced Women? workshop conducted by Tanja Ostojić took place in Torry, an area of Aberdeen separated from the main port and city centre by the mouth of the river. It’s an area with its own distinctive geography. Connected to Aberdeen City centre by three bridges it is also somehow separate and with a strong relationship to the sea. It is easy to imagine it as a place with its own history and stories to tell. When I went to Torry for the first time I was struck by the smell of fish, the sound of the sea and the industrial spaces that dwarfed me as I rode my bike along the coast. I also noticed many different accents that confirmed Torry is a place that holds a diverse community of people who have found it more affordable to live in than other areas of the city. When I came to visit in March it was to meet with Tanja Ostojić in the local community centre and listen to other women speak on their experiences of migration and travel under the umbrella of the festival of politics, hosted by one of the local residents Renée Slater and co organised by Marta Nitecka Barche.

Our base was social centre of Torry, where we first met. We spoke a little bit about why we were there, sharing rich and personal stories around migration and other feelings connected to the idea of being misplaced. We also shared tea and biscuits. I was interested in questions of hospitality and politics in art. As well as this I had recently produced and supported performance art in Torry and wanted to feel what it was like to be on the other side, to perform. In thinking about hospitality I have spent some time trying to decide how it is possible to negotiate the power structures set up by the host/guest scenario. I had thought about the idea that possibly it is only those who have been ‘misplaced’ and know what it feels like to have lost a home that can offer hospitality. I felt that Tanja’s practice was intimately bound up these questions so I was happy that sharing food together, as well as stories of ourselves, round a table was the start of our journey. Tanja was a guest in Torry but also offered us the kind of hospitality that would make it possible to be brave and to move into the uncertain territory of performance art, a foreign land for many of us in the workshop.

After eating we walked out of the community centre, leaving the quiet streets in the area to descend down the hill to the shops and heart of Torry. We were lucky to have a sunny day and a view of the sea. The first place we choose to perform was the front steps of a public library.

Workshop participants in front of the Social Centre, Torry Aberdeen, UK

How did it feel standing outside the library? Angela unpacked things first from a cluttered, unkempt but well loved bag. She made a little line of things on the wall. It seem as though she was meeting a lot of these things for the first time or at least after a long time apart. There were things folded up in things, she stopped as if finished, then realized there was more to be done. I thought about unpacking. I stood on the edge of myself and the public space and paced back and forward. Other people began to unpack in different ways giving us a glimpse of their private worlds some perfectly neat, whilst other more complex. Someone else started to look for something; it became an accidental performance. I delayed. It felt too difficult to start. People started to look on, the librarian paused in the doorway unsure of what was happening. We started to move on. No harm done.

We made it to the bridge and a bus stop. Tanja took that moment to perform. One guy sat at the bus shelter with a group of friends, he watched as she began unpacking. A bus pulled up adding to the suspense. How long would it wait for her? What had been lost? People exchanged glances, questions were hanging in the air. The man on the bench made a decision, he would wait and see what was happening, wherever he was going he decided to delay. His friends left reluctantly without him. A small connection was made between strangers. Meanwhile the rhythm in Tanja’s performance picked up, the pace seemed to be more frantic, she turned items inside out, more stuff was laid out. Finally, at the bottom things were soup stained, a sticky mess. The performance slowed down, started to feel hopeless. Whatever she had been searching for seemed to slip away. She sat on the bench now looking out, spooning in mouthfuls of cold soup from the leaky container. I walked away to find a spot and grab a moment to also perform. I picked somewhere in the sunshine and without waiting dived into my own bag.

Tanja Ostojic´s performance

What are things? I hadn’t really thought too carefully about them before, these things I carry around. That day having taken the leap and begun to unpack, my things felt like little bridges, stretched between people. These objects we travel with make us feel safe, nourished and anxious in equal measure. Kirsty sat next to me unpacking. I decided to emphasize the vulnerability I felt. I piled things in a haphazard way, my papers started to catch in the wind. Kirsty smiled at my ‘filing system’, which was clearly, a broken system, a fragile, human system, under pressure and imperfect. But a system that nevertheless means something to me. I wanted to share what it meant, I was lucky enough to be with people I could share with. What does it mean to get everything out, to feel a little vulnerable but to support each other all the same? It felt good, like I had had a glimpse into another reality and like I would be a better host for having taken the journey.

Caroline Gausend´s performance

 

 

Performance by Ashley McNaughton

 

With the participation of: Karolina Kubik, Caroline Gausden, Angela Margaret Main, Francesco Sani, Gabriel Tracy, Kirsty Russell, Renée Slater, Marta Nitecka Barche, Ashley McNaughton and many other amassing people.

Photos: Amy Bryzgel, Renée Slater, Tanja Ostojic

For more images and texts about this workshop please visit as well:

https://misplacedwomen.wordpress.com/2016/06/13/responses-by-participants-of-the-misplaced-women-workshop-in-torry-aberdeen-march-10-2016/

 

This workshop has been made possible thanks to the generous support of the University of Aberdeen and the Aberdeen Trade Union Council.

Misplaced Man? performance in Aberdeen Airport – Contribution by Amy Bryzgel

One question I always had in my mind with regard to Misplaced Women? was: what about Misplaced Men? Of course, I am aware that Tanja’s work focuses on women because they are perhaps the most vulnerable in situations related to migrations, most notably with regard to trafficking, humiliation, and separation from families. And those who know Tanja’s work also know that she does not deal exclusively with women. Her film, Sans Papiers (2004, together with David Rych), tells the stories of many men being held in detention centres in Germany. So, when the opportunity arose, I decided to stage a Misplaced Man? performance in Aberdeen.

Misplaced Man? sign. Aberdeen Airport. Sign and photograph by Amy Bryzgel.

In the summer of 2015 I started organizing a conference that would involve both research talks and performances. I wanted to have a performance that would take place in the context of the presentation of papers, one that would disrupt the rhythm of the lectures. I immediately thought of Branko Milisković’s work, specifically his performance The Speech, which is part one of a two-part performance. Branko’s speech usually lasts around 4 hours, but given the time and space of the conference, and that this would be just one presentation of many, I asked him to do just 45 minutes of it. I wrote to invite him, and he agreed.

I knew, when I invited Branko, that as a Serbian passport holder, he would need a visa to the UK. As a US citizen (who has now naturalized in the UK), I knew all too well the complicated procedures for obtaining visas. And over the summer of 2015, a story broke about a group of performance artists from Georgia who were all denied visas to travel to the UK to participate in a performance art festival. Of course, I didn’t know the reasons behind that decision, but it was enough to give me pause about inviting Branko. But, I decided that I didn’t want to make an artistic decision based on nationality or bureaucratic procedures. That said, in inviting Branko, I was also aware that I was putting him in a situation that would be very trying for him—because although I could provide some help and support for his visa application, the burden was entirely on him to collect and submit the papers, to surrender his passport, and to wait for the decision as to whether his application deemed him worthy to enter and perform in the UK.

From the time that I invited Branko, on June 10, 2015, until the day that he received his visa on September 9, 2015, around one hundred emails were exchanged, regarding Branko’s visa. No art was discussed during this time. There was no discussion about the content of his speech, the logistics of his performance, how it would fit into the programme—nothing. It was not simply that we put off planning the performance until it was confirmed that he could come to the UK, but that there was simply no mental space or energy for either of us to do so. As the process went on, I felt worse and worse about putting Branko in that situation, as it was clearly very stressful for him, but wondered what choice I had: either I didn’t invite an artist that I thought was very talented and would make a valuable contribution to the conference simply based on the passport he held, or, I would undertake this task, knowing that it would put the artist under pressure.

Branko Milisković, Misplaced Man? performance, Aberdeen Airport, UK, October 29, 2015.

In the end, we were successful, and from my view while I was glad we both took the risk, of course the process could, and should, have been easier and less stressful. But, because we are in the arts, we decided to use our power of expression to bring these issues into the public sphere in a different way. I proposed that Branko do a version of Misplaced Women? as a Misplaced Man? He is pictured here at Aberdeen Airport, just after having been cleared entry into the UK. Interestingly, he is standing in front of a picture of Dunnottar Castle, where I had taken Tanja when she was in Aberdeen in April 2015. Above him, a sign reads “currency exchange.” In fact, it was art that was Branko’s currency—his cultural capital is what enabled him to receive a visa to the UK and do his first performance there. I am glad to report that he is not a Misplaced Man.

__________________________________________________________

Please see directly related — ENTRY CLEARANCE – contribution by Branko Milisković to the Misplaced Women? project, August 30, 2020.

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Misplaced Women? at the University of Aberdeen May Festival, May 30, 2015. Contribution by Amy Bryzgel

On May 30, 2015, Amy Bryzgel (Lecturer in History of Art, University of Aberdeen), Adrienne Janus (Lecturer in English, UoA), and Suk-Jun Kim (Lecturer in Music, UoA) organized “The Art of Performance” at the University of Aberdeen May Festival, in the Linklater Rooms, King’s College, University of Aberdeen. The aim of the annual Festival is to give the general public the opportunity to get to know the research that the academics at the university are working on, and for the researchers to have the chance to engage with and share their work with the wider community. In the “Art of Performance,” Amy, Adrienne and Jun wanted to create an event that would explore notions of performance, performativity, and participation, by creating events that encouraged the attendees to participate, and also by demonstrating performance and giving the audience a chance to ask questions and discuss what they experienced.

Adrienne Janus performs Misplaced Women? Photo by MZ

There were three performances presented at The Art of Performance. The first was Tanja Ostojic’s delegated performance Misplaced Women?, which was performed by Amy Bryzgel, Marta Barche and Lisa Collinson, all of whom had attended Ostojic’s workshop at the University of Aberdeen on April 1, 2015, and they were also joined by Adrienne Janus. During the course of the performance another attendee of the workshop, whom the organizers didn’t know would be attending, also joined in and unpacked her bag. Next, Suk-Jun Kim and three of his students, Bea Dawkins, Mark James Dunmore and Simon Hellewell did a live-coding performance (Untitled, 2015), where they used the following four phrases as material which they then manipulated in their piece: “Where did you come from? What did you do today? What will you do today? How did you get here?” Finally, after a group discussion on the role of performance art and participatory art in Aberdeen, the audience experienced a Situationist International-inspired dérive, led by Adrienne and Marta, on the Elphinstone Lawn of the University of Aberdeen campus.

Amy Bryzgel performs Misplaced Women? Photo by MZ

Adrienne Janus performs Misplaced Women? Photo by MZ

Movement was the key concept that linked all three performance: movement, migration, how we move through space, how we occupy space, how we make space our own. Misplaced Women? raises questions not only about movement and migration, but also about where one’s private space ends and public space begins. The performance of the piece took place suddenly, unannounced, while the audience members were circulating the room, answering questions posed to them on posterboards, writing on post-it notes, eating candy (after Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s candy installations), so although it did not interrupted the flow of activity, it did form a disruption and attract the attention of those in the room. Perhaps at first the audience members may have thought that we were looking for something in our bags, but as each woman joined the activity, it became clear that something else was going on.

Misplaced Women? at the University of Aberdeen May Festival Photo by MZ

I, personally, became aware of the line between public and private that I had crossed when I began to empty out my wallet, and placed my identity cards and bank cards on the floor in front of me – all cards that contain important numbers that one is meant to keep secret, and the theft of which could cause significant problems for the owner of those cards. In the back of my mind I reassured myself that none of the people in the room would misuse that information, but whether or not this was true was not important. Rather, the fact that I experienced the feeling of exposing myself in the public space made the performance a poignant experience for me.

After the live-coding performance we all engaged in a discussion about the nature and role of performance art. One attendee said that she had actually wanted to join in the Misplaced Women? performance, but wasn’t sure if she could or should, and didn’t know if she had “permission.” In many ways, Misplaced Women? itself is about permission, and the role that permission plays in one’s ability to cross borders – who has permission to go where, and why.

Marta Barche performs Misplaced Women? Photo by MZ

Next, Marta Barche gave a sensitive and intelligent presentation about what Misplaced Women? means to her, especially in connection with her own personal migration story. And The Art of Performance ended with audience members following Adrienne and Marta outside into the world to experience it anew, through dérive.

About 35 people attended the Art of Performance, and all were thoroughly engaged and enthusiastic about witnessing and discussing performance, and even trying a bit of it themselves. Although Misplaced Women? was performed in the context of these other events, and not necessarily in a migration-sensitive space (although the University itself represents migration, with its diversity of faculty and students), I believe that viewing Misplaced Women? and hearing Marta’s discussion of it inspired others to think about their own migration stories, and the boundaries that they come across in their everyday lives, when they travel, and when they encounter individuals from other lands.

To view the live-tweets of the event, see #MayFestPerform on Twitter

The Art of Performance; Lisa Collinson performs Misplaced Women? in the foreground Photo by MZ

The Art of Performance, Linklater Rooms, University of Aberdeen Live-coding performers in the foreground Photo by MZ

Marta´s Story

Misplaced Women? banner by Marta Nitecka Barche

 

I took part in Tanja Ostojic´s “Misplaced Women?” workshop in April 2015 at the University of Aberdeen. 
I was also honoured to take part in ‘ The Art of Performance’ event as part of May Festival 2015  at the University of Aberdeen where Dr Amy Bryzgel, Dr Adrienne Janus, Dr Lisa Collinson, and I performed Misplaced Women?. I prepared a short talk for this event about the performance and what it means to me:

To me, Misplaced Women? is a very peculiar performance. It has many meanings linked to my academic interests and to my individual experience. It recalls the everyday reality of migrants and refugees, of people who more or less willingly move between countries and cities. Their personal stories happen every day on the streets, shops, bus stations, and airports. That is why Misplaced Women? takes place in a public place without any particular settings. The idea is that anyone can enact the performance in ordinary settings among strangers passing by; just like anyone can become a migrant who needs to pack a part of their life into a suitcase and move to an unknown place. Misplaced Women? does not ask about nationality or political status. It performs and reaffirms the right of individual people to exist and to occupy space as human beings, whatever their identity. It calls attention to their presence, to their present existence; an existence often unrecognised or denied by political and national modes of identification (especially in the case of undocumented immigrants). Misplaced Women? lets individuals be present without asking about their place of belonging. This makes it a very personal performance to me. I have been moving between cities and states for most of my life. As a child, I moved with my parents within Poland. There was time when I changed my schools twice in one year. When I was a teenager, I spoke to my friend who said that she would like to move to another country, but it is so difficult to do. I said to her “you just need to go if you want to”. It was then I realised that I did not see any issue with changing place. To me it was as simple as going there. When I was older, I left Poland and moved to the USA; I did not feel I belonged to Poland. In my life I moved a few times more from one state to another. I have been in Aberdeen for over 4 years. I am lucky enough to be a student at the University of Aberdeen. I have also become a mother, and my son occupies his own space here. I like my life here and I want to stay here. I realised that “I want to stay” is important; I have chosen to stay in Aberdeen; but I also know that I do not have to stay here. I do not belong to Warsaw or Poland; I am not sure if I belong to Aberdeen, or Scotland, or to any other place. I do not feel I belong to any state and I do not like to be classified by nationality. I am a woman, a wife, a mother, a student, I am a human being, I am present, I occupy space, I am a misplaced woman.

I  myself was subject to border control procedures in the USA. It was an experience of a particular kind of hell. I spent over 3 weeks in a regular jail. They called it “migration prison” but the truth is that I was there with criminals (I have never had a criminal past or committed any crime). They told me that my case was administrative, not criminal; but at the same time, I was handcuffed and ankle- cuffed. It took me forever to deal with this trauma; I am still dealing with it and I am not sure if I will ever overcome this experience completely.

By Marta Nitecka Barche

Misplaced Women? Performance Workshop, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, April 1, 2015 – Contribution by Fabia Brustia

Fabia Brustia is a student in English and Literature in a World Context at the University of Aberdeen. The following are her thoughts on the project and photographs of her participation and contribution in the workshop.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary online defines the verb ‘to misplace’ as:

• to put in a wrong or inappropriate place
• to lose (something) for a short time by forgetting where you put it <misplaced the keys>
• to set on a wrong object or eventuality <his trust had been misplaced>

This indicates that the agent and the ‘object’ of the action do not correspond, and that the act of misplacing something has been accidental or, in the case of an eventuality, estimated incorrectly.

My wallet contains my story of young woman and student, of sister and daughter, of friend, of bookworm, of migrant… This multiplicity of identities are enclosed in a single piece of leather that my mum gave me when I was 18. It contained her story, but it was ready to start sewing together the components of another one.

Fabia Brustia; Photo by Tanja Ostojic

The objects in my wallet can be divided into different categories:

• cards of places I wanted to remember because of the good memories I want to keep with their help
  

  Fabia Brustia explains her work to Tanja Ostojic, and workshop participants. Photo by Filip Barche.

• cards of five different coffee shops in Aberdeen
• a card of the café where I worked for two years during the summer and the bus pass provided by the hotel I work for in Aberdeen
• the business card of the coordinator of Carbon School, a project for which I volunteer in the last two years
• library cards of three different places; a list of books I want to read which I wrote when I was 16 and I still keep with me, as I have managed to read only half of those books so far; a fidelity card of my favourite second-hand bookshop in Italy
• documents such as driving license, national ID, student ID, two credit cards and health insurance card
• money from three different places: an American dollar, a few pounds and a 1000 Lire note (pre-Euro currency of Italy)
• unclassifiable objects:
• a picture of me and one of my dearest friends in Italy
• a playing card with a Queen of clubs on it
• a coloured hexagram made of paper that nuns in the convent of Carrión de los Condes gave me when I stopped there in 2012, when I walked from St-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago de Compostela
• a card with ‘In bocca al lupo!’ (‘Break a leg!’ In Italian) signed by my grandfather, who misspelt his signature because he left school when he was 8, so he tries to write only when he absolutely must
• a leaf with the name of my brother and my name written with Celtic runes that my uncle gave me ten years ago

Fabia Brustia, Photo by Tanja Ostojic

During the workshop with Tanja Ostojić, I tried to reproduce the same classification system in front of me, but I realised the division did not quite work. Objects cannot be divided into groups, as they link the events of my life and my migration together. I believe that the hexagram is the most meaningful thing I have in my wallet. Symbolising the position of man between earth and sky in Hinduism, it is usually connected to the Star of David or Jewish Star. The connection between Jewish people and diaspora (that is, the movement of a population from its land of origin) is almost automatic, and it links with the condition of in-between person I am, as I grew ‘physically’ and ‘morally’ in Italy, but I am expanding my knowledge in Scotland. What is more, it was that long month I spent hiking from France to the west border of Spain until Finisterre which motivated me to come to Scotland to experience a new way of living and studying. For this reason, the star can be easily connected to my library cards, as it was my interest for literature that pushed me to apply for the University of Aberdeen, and to my student ID. In short, three objects from three different places (Italy, Spain, and Scotland).

Like the cards in my wallet, I do not fit into one single category: I am an English and Literature in a World Context student, raised and born in Italy, who spent the last three years of her life in Scotland for the love of knowledge. I cannot say my home is Italy, as I have created strong connections in and outside Aberdeen and at the same time all over the world, thanks to the variety of nationalities my life at university and my work allowed me to meet.

Fabia Brustia. Photo by Tanja Ostojic.

That is the message I felt when I saw the pictures of the performance by Tanja Ostojić for the first time, and when we proposed again the performance in April. There is no misplacement, because the fact of being in a particular place and voluntarily creating the story of our migration in front of a group of viewers or passers-by has been decided by us. We place ourselves in the world and, thanks to the connections we create with others, we will never be misplaced.

-Fabia Brustia

Misplaced Women? Performance Workshop News

Original review from University of Aberdeen:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sdhp/history-art/news/7510/

Workshop with Tanja Ostojic

On April 1st, the renowned Serbian feminist performance artist Tanja Ostojic visited the University of Aberdeen and gave a workshop about Misplaced Women?. Over twenty students and staff from disciplines such as Film & Visual Culture, History of Art, Scandinavian Studies and Anthropology at the University of Aberdeen, and sculpture and critical theory at Robert Gordon University participated. Ostojic introduced the Misplaced Women? project, and then gave attendees the opportunity to try it for themselves. Misplaced Women? is a delegated performance, which means that while the artist is the author of the overall concept or idea, others may enact the performance based on those ideas. Ostojic’s original performance for the project involved her unpacking the entire contents of her suitcase in a migrant-sensitive public space – for example, an airport or the a public square. Others who choose to enact the performance can also unpack a suitcase or bag, or perform a similar action, but the idea of the action should be related to the overall concept of Misplaced Women?, which probes the phenomenon of migration by putting the performer in the position of individuals who are often deprived of their own personal or private space.
At the University of Aberdeen workshop, a range of solutions were found, with participants displaying their personal items in unique and original ways – on desks, floors and coatracks. Some who didn’t have a bag with them chose to examine personal and private space from a different angle – one student removed her shoes and laid on the floor, demarcating the area around her as private, as opposed to public space.
The workshop was a great success, and enabled those will little or no experience in performance to try it out in a safe space. The projects will be developed out into the public space of Aberdeen and beyond, so be on the lookout for Misplaced Women on the steps, streets and sidewalks of the city!
You can follow the project on the website: https://misplacedwomen.wordpress.com which already includes one performance that took place in Aberdeen – at the Airport, when Amy Bryzgel picked up the artist upon her arrival. Photos from the workshop and the projects that resulted from it will be soon to follow.

Misplaced Women? Performance Workshop, University of Aberdeen, Scotland, April 1, 2015

Misplaced Women? Performance Workshop took place at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland in the frame of Master Class program on April 1, 2015.

Workshop concept and leadership: Tanja Ostojic

Workshop participants:
Marta Nitecka Barche, English/Literature in a World Context, University of Aberdeen
Fabia Brustia, English/Literature in a World Context, University of Aberdeen
Ioana Dragusin, Psychology, University of Aberdeen
Rebecca E. Fry, Sculpture, Robert Gordon University
Caroline Gausden, Critical Theory, Robert Gordon University
Josefin Kamf, Anthropology and International Relations, University of Aberdeen
Minna Havstad, Art History/French, University of Aberdeen
Lisa Collinson, History/Scandinavian Studies, University of Aberdeen
Alexandra Lacokova, English and Film, University of Aberdeen
Jack Williams, English and Film, University of Aberdeen
Sanni Rama, English and Film, University of Aberdeen
Lucie Douglas, Film, University of Aberdeen
Iliana Kostova, Film and Hispanic Studies, University of Aberdeen
Nedelko Tudzharov, Film University of Aberdeen
Isabella Fausti, Film and Philosophy, University of Aberdeen
Chiara Lentz, Film and History, University of Aberdeen
Emilia Zacharcew, Film, University of Aberdeen
Jasmina Zaloznik, History of Art and Visual Culture, University of Aberdeen
Amy Bryzgel, History of Art, University of Aberdeen
Alan Marcus, Film and Visual Culture, University of Aberdeen

Photo Credits: Tanja Ostojic/ Filip Barche

Jasmina Zaloznik, PhD Student in History of Art and Visual Culture (UoA)

Rebecca E. Fry, sculpture student (RGU)

Caroline Gausden, Research student in Critical Theory (RGU)

Marta Nitecka Barche, student in English/Literature in a World Context (UoA)

Lisa Collinson, Tanja Ostojic, Jasmina Zaloznik

Dr. Lisa Collinson, researcher in History/Scandinavian Studies (UoA)

Installation by Dr. Lisa Collinson

Caroline Gausden

Tanja Ostojic

Fabia Brustia, student in English/Literature in a World Context (UoA)

Installation (detail) by Fabia Brustia, student in English/Literature in a World Context (UoA)

Fabia Brustia, student in English/Literature in a World Context (UoA)

Fabia Brustia, student in English/Literature in a World Context (UoA)

Professor Alan Marcus, Professor in Film and Visual Culture (UoA) (right) with participants of the Misplaced Women? workshop

Josefin Kamf, student in Anthropology and International Relations (UoA)

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Aberdeen International Airport, United Kingdom, March 31, 2015

Misplaced Women? Sign held by Amy Bryzgel at the domestic arrivals halls, Aberdeen International Airport, UK

Amy Bryzgel at Aberdeen Airport. Photo: Tanja Ostojic

Photo: Tanja Ostojic

On March 31, 2015, Tanja Ostojic arrived in Aberdeen to give a workshop to students on “Misplaced Women?” and also participate in a Director’s Cut interview at the University of Aberdeen. She invited me to do this delegated performance when I picked her up at the airport, so of course I agreed. As the author of numerous publications on performance art, I am all for performative airport pick-ups!

Misplaced Women sign
Photo: Amy Bryzgel

Misplaced Women sign by Amy Bryzgel

Photo: Amy Bryzgel

Am I a Misplaced Woman? I often ask myself where my place in the world is. I was born and raised in America, but lived for several years in Poland and Latvia, where I also learned both of those languages and attempted to integrate into local society in each place. Now, I live in Scotland, which has its own identity in the UK. The city I live in is Aberdeen, which is known for being an oil capital of Europe, as well as its its ancient university; so, by definition, it is a migrant city. I think it is difficult to fit in anywhere, even in your home country, because there is always something that makes you different from those that surround you. But I also have spent much of my adult life dealing with work and study visas, and amassing mountains of paperwork to get the necessary permissions to stay in the countries where I am not a natural born citizen. So I understand migration from its many different aspects.