ABOUT
"We Are Islands" was born from a simple question: What do we know about the migration experiences of artists from non-Western countries who moved to Germany? Did these experiences reshape their artistic practices? To answer this question, interviews were conducted with 11 artists and compiled into a publication, which was released in September 2025.
Up until now, more artists residing in Germany and beyond have participated in this project, and the project keeps developing on this website. The project was initiated and is managed by independent researcher Yohsuke Ishizuka.
The publication was designed by Macarius Eng, who introduced the idea of using LiSong Chinese type for English text. This design choice tells the stories of the artists and their immigrant experiences, capturing the struggles of masking and the difficulty of presenting as something else.
MISSIONS
Archive
The project aims to build an archive of spoken (hi)stories by artists in relation to migration experiences.
Community
The project aims to create a community for artists who work with the issue of migration to foster communication.
Empowerment
The project aims to contribute to the empowerment of immigrant artists by communicating their voices to society.