Contribution short abstract:

Mobility research has often been limited by the migrant/ non-migrant categories used, suggesting clear distinctions between sedentary and mobile lives. This paper argues for reimagining migration/mobility research beyond the binaries using arts-based methods to centre participants' voices.

Contribution long abstract:

Research into mobility has often been limited by the categories that we use, such as ‘migrant’/‘non-migrant suggesting clear distinctions between sedentary and mobile lives. Starting from the idea of a ‘spectrum of mobility’, research can explore rather than assume the impact that different forms of movement have on people’s social, economic and political networks, and their sense of belonging. Furthermore, research is usually written up in academic genres which exclude many of those written about. As such in this paper I present research that explored the sense of being and belonging to the city of Johannesburg, South Africa from the perspective of women living in the city, occupying different positions accross the mobility spectrum; women born in the city, those who migrated from other cities and provinces, and from outside South Africa, from an intersectionality theory informed lens. Using arts-based research methods in the form of poetry writing workshops, visits to art exhibitions, museums, and the city’s recreational spaces to prompt women’s discussions and writing about the city. The paper shows that by starting from the mobility spectrum, the project considered being and belonging to the city, outside of the binary frames of migrant/non-migrant, allowing for the exploration of the significance of migration status. Arts-based methodologies shift power from a ventriloquist researcher, centering the participants' voices in the artworks/ poetry produced. The paper argues for a reimagining of the ways we conceptualize migration and mobility research beyond the binaries including shifting the researcher/participant relationships.