Participating Artists Press Agency
“Migrationpapa”
Wednesday 14th of January 2026 – page 3
On a Monday morning in November 2010, six photographers in five cities around the world take their cameras to urban neighbourhoods where newcomers arrive. The photos flow into the PAPA website like a wave moving around the world. First from Bangladesh, five hours later from Rotterdam and Lagos – cities in the same time zone. Detroit and São Paulo complete the group another seven hours later. From the first week the photos and captions were projected on the windows of the cultural centre at the entrance to the neighbourhood in Rotterdam. The same will happen in other cities. In this way the inhabitants of the various newcomers neighbourhoods not only get a fresh perspective on their own lives but they also get to see how newcomers in other cities live. Migrationpapa is a PAPA project for Kosmopolis Rotterdam with the generous support of Hivos
Saturday 6th of November 2010
Dhaka -
Rickshaw owners keep their own rickshaws in the garage for safety. They also let out the place for others who do not have enough rickshaws/rickshaw vans, to justify a garage…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Detroit -
Burn down facades of front stores line up parts of Michigan Ave. in Detroit, they share the street with strip clubs, Mexican grocery joints and used furniture stores. Michigan Ave…
Marcin Szczepanski –
Migrationpapa
Rotterdam -
While focusing on migration, entrepreneurship, violence, volunteer work, churches and welfare, I almost forgot to share the great views one has in this neighborhood. Rotterdam is a port, and as…
Nies Medema –
Migrationpapa
Lagos -
This young man runs a phone battery recharging service. There is the saying ‘every disappointment can be a blessing’. This certainly applies to the battery recharging services dotted across the…
Andrew Esiebo –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Kadar moton ghumai literally translates to ‘sleeping like sand’. It is generally used for small children who drape themselves around their mother, sleeping as if the world didn’t exist. These…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Sao Paulo -
Apart from migration from other countries that happen here for years, the city of Sao Paulo has migratory people from the north and northeast of the country seeking work. Many…
Ines Correa –
Migrationpapa
Rotterdam -
Traditional Dutch churches and believers are becoming extinct species. This is a spire of a former reformed church in Tarwewijk. It is now the home of a church called Victory…
Nies Medema –
Migrationpapa
Lagos -
Andrew Peji, arrived Lagos twenty years ago from Republic of Benin as a cook for the Military in Nigeria. Currently secretary of the Union of the commercial Tricycle motor bike…
Andrew Esiebo –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
A rickshaw walla with his baby girl. While it is difficult to make ends meet with what one earns pulling a rickshaw. Once children are born, it becomes more difficult…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Lagos -
Men who are mostly from northern Nigeria are off loading bags of rice into the wharehouse in Iddo terminus market. The market is popular for transtional trading. This has made…
Andrew Esiebo –
Migrationpapa
Sao Paulo -
This image was made in the center of Sao Paulo City. In the same region where the Terminal Bus Station was and where the korean people worked. We can see…
Ines Correa –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Children need to become productive at a very early age and take on many adult roles. Every member of the family, beyond a certain age has to work to keep…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Rotterdam -
At the hairdresser in Dordtselaan a poster is displayed. It says: ‘ I will act when I witness a violent situation in the street.'The poster was published by the…
Nies Medema –
Migrationpapa
Detroit -
A dead tree is covered with teddy bears and topped with shopping carts (used by the homeless in the city). The Heidelberg Project was created in 1986 by artist Tyree…
Marcin Szczepanski –
Migrationpapa
Rotterdam -
A man transports scrap metal with his ship from one harbour to another. He says his hands are resistant to poison and acid. His ships’ name is De Volharding (Perseverance)…
Nies Medema –
Migrationpapa
Lagos -
A young boy who recently migrated from the nothern Nigeria to Lagos is assisting and learning the business of legiums at the Iddo terminus market. The market is popular for…
Andrew Esiebo –
Migrationpapa
Rotterdam -
Whatare we to make of a circular illuminated sign with the text: ‘OK, safe point,report violence’? Is this a safe point because the sign is here or is this…
Nies Medema –
Migrationpapa
Rotterdam -
It’s 1 pm. Three young people hanging around the afro-cosmetics-wig-international phonecall-shop. The boy with the leather jacket is complaining about something. It’s not clear what bothers him. Life in general…
Nies Medema –
Migrationpapa
Lagos -
Woman from eastern in front of her store where she sells stockfish a.k.aOporoko at the Iddo terminus market. The market is popular for transtional trading. This has made…
Andrew Esiebo –
Migrationpapa
Rotterdam -
We do have a big problem in integrating newcomers in our society. It is hopefull that people from Surinam, a former Dutch colony seem to have found their way up…
Lino Hellings –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
The ‘services’ required by the community include entertainment and medical support. The snake charmer provides both. While people like to watch the dance of the snakes, the charmer, Lokman also…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
Rickshaw wallas are very proud of their rickshaws and most rickshaws are brightly decorated. But with times getting more difficult, there are fewer adornments, and hand painted decorations are being…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa
Lagos -
With a big umbrella, the cheapest phone of less than 10 dollars many new comers make their daily living through the Mobile Telephone booth popularly known as Payphone that dots…
Andrew Esiebo –
Migrationpapa
Dhaka -
The owners of the rickshaw garage are often themselves former rickshaw pullers. These owners are migrants too. Rickshaws often get stolen. They are also taken away by local protection rackets…
Shahidul Alam –
Migrationpapa