Migrant Indie Art Festival seeks artistic independence with Declaration of Freedom

The Migrant Indie Art Festival is back for its 15th year, but this time it's being held under a new name.

Organized by the Asian Media Culture Factory, it started in 2012 as the Seoul Migrant Art Festival. This year's festival will be held in two venues from this Saturday to Oct. 25 in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo and Seodaemun districts, featuring events including music and screenings of films made by migrants living in Korea.

Founded in late 2011, the Asian Media Culture Factory is a nonprofit cultural and arts organization led by migrants. The organizers told The Korea Times that their mission is to support migrant-led artistic practices and build a cultural and artistic platform for people who arrived from overseas.

“We believe that everyone should have the right to engage in the arts, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion or visa status," they said.

“We hope to create a space where migrant artists and cultural practitioners, who often have limited cultural and artistic networks and few opportunities to present their work in Korean society, can showcase their work and gain recognition. Beyond simply demonstrating their artistic talents, we want them to be able to express themselves through art that reflects their identities, both as creators and as migrants.”

In a Declaration of Freedom statement, the organizers acknowledge that many migrant artists living in Korea have had to silence themselves, unable to freely pursue the artistic work they long for — constrained by the terms of their residency visas or their employers.

The festival's slogan this year is "Switch On!"

"It is both a promise that together we will brightly illuminate the stage of migrant creators who have long been obscured in the shadow of institutional constraints and discrimination, and a commitment to powerfully switching on the migrant arts platform and connecting more and more creators with the world,” organizers said.

The festival brings together artists from a wide range of national backgrounds and artistic disciplines.

The music program features musicians from Russia, Canada, Afghanistan, China and other countries, including a musician from the Chin ethnic minority in Myanmar.

Russian pianist Stanislav Osovsky, who fled his homeland after it began its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, is preparing a performance with a Ukrainian visual artist to convey a message of peace.

There will be a screening of "Drained by Dreams," the feature-length film debut of Shekh al Mamun, director of the Asian Media Culture Factory. The 84-minute narrative film will be screened in Korean and Bengali with English subtitles. The film received pre-production support from the Korean Film Council and won the Grand Prize at the 2025 Tunis International Human Rights Film Festival in Tunisia.

Originally from Bangladesh, Shekh came to Korea in 1998 and spent years working in a furniture factory. He later joined the Asian Media Culture Factory as a cultural programmer and has been a full-time staff member since March 2012. He became its director in April 2026, and also serves as senior vice chairperson of the Migrants' Trade Union. Before the union was established, he was also actively involved in a long-term sit-in protest by migrant workers at Myeongdong Cathedral in 2003, serving as an organizing leader in the struggle.

The festival will also present short films by creators from Germany, Uzbekistan, Nepal, the United States, China and other countries, followed by discussions and Q&A sessions with the filmmakers.

A one-day art workshop led by a Palestinian artist will introduce participants to tatreez, a traditional form of embroidery.

The program also includes an improvisational theater performance by the Art Project Team for Democracy in Myanmar. In addition, a talk program titled "Freedom for All of Us" will explore the voices of people deprived of freedom in different contexts and examine the possibilities for intersectional solidarity against oppression and discrimination. The discussion will address freedom of movement between workplaces, democracy and freedom in Myanmar, and freedom for Palestine.

On Saturday, a small pre-opening event called the Earthlings Mini Art Market will take place in front of the Migrant Art & Culture Space (FreePort) venue in Mullae-dong in Yeongdeungpo District.

That evening, musicians will perform on the venue's rooftop. The program will also feature "BECOMING," a specially commissioned performance created through a collaboration between the Asian Media Culture Factory and the dance collective Gil Project. Through dance, artists from diverse backgrounds will share stories about their identities and experiences.

In their message, organizers expressed heartfelt gratitude to all the organizations and individual supporters who have helped sustain this festival for 15 years, as well as to the members of the planning committee and artists, both local and international, who have joined them along the way.

All events are free to attend except for the Migrant Art Workshop. Visit amcfactory.org or follow @amcfactory on Instagram for more information.

Bereket Alemayehu is an Ethiopian photo artist, social activist and writer based in Seoul. He’s also the co-founder of Hanokers, a refugee-led social initiative, and a freelance contributor for Pressenza Press Agency.