Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Netherlands
fellow
Elena Rabkina
2023-2024
Discipline(s)
Anthropology and ethnology
Arts and arts studies
Sociology
Theme(s)
Identity
Migration
Visual Arts
Fellowship dates
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Biography
Elena Rabkina is a Belarusian curator, artist and activist who combines her artistic, journalistic, and psychological background to create art pieces in the field of social illustration and public art. Her main topics of focus include social justice, migration, ecology, and current political events.
Her recent works are built upon the complex exploration of the migrant experience trauma through experimental art.
Fellow of the Netherland Institute of the Advanced Studies, founder of the Artistic Research and Social Innovation Foundation. Elena Rabkina exhibited her work at various venues including the National Contemporary Art Center, Belarus; SÜDBAHNHOF fotografische Werke, Germany; Mark Rothko Art Center, Latvia; Ars Electronica, Austria and others.
Research Project
Tracing Home: An Interactive Exploration of Migrant Sentimentality
Elena is a Safe Haven Fellow at NIAS during 2023-2024.
How can we use objects and stories to trace the emotional and sentimental attachments that migrants have to their homes, both as a physical place and as a cultural and social construct? Tracing Home is an interdisciplinary project that seeks to explore the emotional and sentimental dimensions of the migratory experience, particularly in relation to the concept of “home.”
Elena Rabkina aims to combine academic, journalistic, and artistic approaches to create an interactive installation that incorporates Playtronica elements to tell the stories and results of the research. This installation will provide a sensory and immersive experience, inviting visitors to touch and interact with objects that are meaningful to migrants and to listen to their stories. Additionally, the project will result in an article that provides deeper information on the research findings and insights into the emotional and human dimensions of migration and the website that serves as a digital archive of the research and as well incorporates the interactive and responsive elements in order to reach a wider audience.
Research Interests:
Migration and material culture; emotional geographies of home; interactive art and research; sensory ethnography; social justice; migration; ecology; current political events