“Migrationpapa”

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

Volunteer work 2

Rotterdam -  Ali Toptas tells me why there are no children in the play ground I saw the day before yesterday. There is a brand new play ground, also not far from…
Nies Medema – Migrationpapa

Rickshaw Wallah

Dhaka -  This is the man around whom I will be building my story. He lives on the upper floor of the wooden huts in Sadek City Model Town.…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

The Bed

Dhaka -  The bed in this family home almost fills up the entire space of the 8 foot by 8 foot room. Things are stuck up on the walls to save space…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Corner shop cinema

Dhaka -  The corner shop sells pretty much anything you might need on a daily basis. It is also a tea shop. However, to do business you need more, so all the…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Once a stable street

Detroit -  A Latino man talks on the phone while looking at the house of his sister in Mexicantown that is engulfed in flames. Fires are daily occurrences in the city due…
Marcin Szczepanski – Migrationpapa

Mongolian saloon?

Dhaka -  As children we used to talk about Italian Saloons (‘It’ is a brick in Bangla, so these were saloons where you sat on roadside bricks). We also had Mongolian Saloons…
Shahidul Alam – Migrationpapa

Empty road

Detroit -  It’s 10 a.m. and Michigan Ave. is almost empty. Michigan Ave. is one of the main streets in Detroit. It was built to accommodate several lanes of traffic going…
Marcin Szczepanski – Migrationpapa

The workers

Rotterdam -  When I arrive in the Tarwewijk early in the morning I see groups of dark hooded men standing in the cold under the flyover from the metro station Maashaven. They…
Lino Hellings – Migrationpapa

Street Art part 1

Detroit -  An abandoned building on Chene St. in Detroit has been turned into an urban canvas by an artist. The painting presents cartoon characters engaged in violence and drugs. It was…
Marcin Szczepanski – Migrationpapa

Black middle class

Detroit -  Adris Nia, 60, grew up in Detroit. His parents moved here from the south of the US to take government positions in the first half of the 20th century. They…
Marcin Szczepanski – Migrationpapa

The bosses

Rotterdam -  Six o'clock in the morning the pub next to the Metro station is serving coffee for the ‘bosses’ I think. In the cold night minivans and cars arrive to pick…
Lino Hellings – Migrationpapa

Please be brave

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

Brazilian Bum

Sao Paulo -  This chinese born in Brazil lives in Liberdade. She’s adapted to the Brazilian way of life. When I was shooting, a brazilian man that was going through said to me:…
Ines Correa – Migrationpapa

Radio Tarwewijk

Rotterdam -  Erwin, the nice guy that I met in the street the other day introduced me to Eric. Eric is a very dedicated Tarwewijker who actively interacts when things happen that…
Lino Hellings – Migrationpapa

Detroit Lives!

Detroit -  A sticker with a Detroit Lives! logo lies on the sidewalk in Woodbridge, historic neighborhood in midtown Detroit. There’s a lot of meaning contained in this image. First, the location…
Marcin Szczepanski – Migrationpapa

City art 1

Rotterdam -  In the harbour (Maashaven) someone felt the need to make art on this metal door.…
Nies Medema – Migrationpapa

When we wake up

Sao Paulo -  These houses are protected until now. Sometimes when we wake up, they are not there anymore. They have beem removed, demolished.…
Ines Correa – Migrationpapa

Very cheap

Sao Paulo -  These Chinese came to Brazil a short time ago. They don’t speak English or Portuguese. They sell hats made in China. R$ 10,00 each. This is very cheap.…
Ines Correa – Migrationpapa

Beans from far away

Sao Paulo -  When someone goes to a place, he carries with him things he likes. When he arrives, there are things there that he learns. This paper is written in Japanese or…
Ines Correa – Migrationpapa

cityscape 2

Rotterdam -  View on Tarwewijk, the old grain warehouse. Tarwewijk in Rotterdam was built for dockers, sailors, workers and their families. Some of them still come to the harbour every day. ‘In…
Nies Medema – Migrationpapa

Pimp your car

Rotterdam -  Many people in Tarwewijk who used to work in the harbour and factories are jobless today. The new job market is in hairdo (African, Asian, Western), international telephone booths, small…
Nies Medema – Migrationpapa

Pattern 4 Tarwewijk

Rotterdam -  An attempt to get it all into one picture, the tensions between the state and the civilian and between the individual and the collective/community.…
Lino Hellings – Migrationpapa

The Streetfactory

Rotterdam -  Who are we?De boys of De Straatfabriek explain:Bebito:This is THE way to keep me of the street. I do learn a lot as well, like wood…
Lino Hellings – Migrationpapa

Barbershop

Rotterdam -  In the Tarwewijk I do see many barbershops too. So many cultures, so many different kinds of hair and hairstyles do explain the amount of shops. But like in Lagos…
Lino Hellings – Migrationpapa