Mapping the Migratory Exodus: Art, Education and Narratives Between the Local and the Transnational

Abstract

At a theoretical level, migration is conceived as a relational, identity-based and multi-scalar process that goes beyond the traditional territorial or economic approach. It involves acculturation, symbolic negotiation and situated belonging. Art and social cartography, from decolonial and participatory frameworks, emerge as epistemic devices for representing and transforming these experiences. This study comparatively analyses the migratory experiences of two groups: people who migrate from rural to urban areas within Spain, and international migrants in an irregular administrative situation from Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Mauritania and Guinea. Through a qualitative approach combining semi-structured interviews, narrative analysis and social cartography, the motivations for displacement, expectations about the future, difficulties experienced and processes of identity reconstruction in the contexts of arrival are explored. The research reveals both similarities and substantial differences between the two groups. While internal migrants experience an "affective dislocation" in urban environments marked by precariousness and anonymity, international migrants in an irregular administrative situation face more structural barriers such as lack of documentation, racism and institutional exclusion. In both cases, art and cartography emerge as powerful languages for expressing, representing and re-signifying the migratory experience. These tools help to make memories, emotions and trajectories visible, while also facilitating processes of social and educational inclusion. Educational, social and methodological implications for promoting a more empathetic, participatory and humanely involved reception are highlighted. Overall, the study suggests that migration should be understood not only as a geographical or economic phenomenon, but as a transformative process that reshapes subjectivity, belonging and agency across unequal mobility regimes. By juxtaposing internal and international trajectories, the analysis highlights how arts-based and cartographic practices make these transformative dynamics visible without reproducing state-centred classificatory categories.