Performing Arts and Practices for the Inclusion of Migrants in Milan

The contribution aims to present some results of the research project Migrations|Mediations. Arts and Communication as Resources for Intercultural Dialogue, developed by the Department of Communication and Performing Arts of Università Cattolica (2016-2019). As a part of the research, a survey was made of operators and experiences that use media, culture and performing arts for the social inclusion of migrants in the Metropolitan City of Milan. The survey identified about 180 operators and more than 200 experiences, collected and interconnected in an online database. Within this database, the experiences related to the field of theatre and performing arts offer a varied, rich and flourishing panorama of projects that constitutes one-third of the whole mapping. Particularly interesting are those projects that focus on the active participation of the recipients, on the ability of network with other subjects in the same territory, on the promotion of the encounter between different cultures and communities, and on the use of a workshop mode aimed at the co-construction of shared paths. The contribution, starting from some case studies, aims to discuss whether the above described features can have an actual role in favouring processes of effective social inclusion and of intercultural dialogue through the mediation of performing arts and practices.