The Migrants

The Migrants is a video game and a multi-channel performance from 2014 that is based on the real migration routes of birds. Due to global warming, the Golden Warbler faced storms on the coast of Florida, which used to be their main destination. This caused the birds to alter their migratory routes exploring alternative ways through Mexico and Central America before finally arriving in Colombia. The performance, produced by Colombian artists Juan Cortés and Santiago Arcila in co-operation with Atractor Studio, uses the Indigenous approach of adopting the perspective of the animal. A prosthesis allows the performers/players to assume the role of the main character in the game who must overcome obstacles: walls, electric fences, communication aerials, and pollution. The Migrants can be experienced in the form of a video, a live performance, and an interac-tive video game. This is the video version.  On the screens, we see the bird's perspective on the journey from a forest in Canada to the mountains of Tolemaida in Colombia. The performers have to follow the route while col-lecting food for themselves and their flock in an attempt not to die during the long journey. It is also crucial to understand that throughout this trip, the bird is a seed disperser, a for-est weaver. The bird recovers and feeds ecological niches. In this context, “The Migrants” encourages reflection on the complexity of migration and massive displacements with-in the human sphere, but also the cultural and social fabrics that result from it.