Re Rooting: Migration, Memory, & Belonging of the Russian-Speaking Diaspora

Yulia Spiridonova’s exhibition, "The Space of Appearance: Shared Tongue," is currently on view on the third floor of the Davis Center. This exhibition space is dedicated to rotating shows featuring artists and artistic practices from the regions within the Center’s research focus.

The selected group of images in the exhibition is an excerpt from Spiridonova’s ongoing project, "Wayward Son," a photographic series examining the contemporary displacement of people from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, and Central Asia. The individuals portrayed in this body of work share the Russian language and the experience of leaving their respective home countries because of political repression, the gradual erosion of personal freedoms and civic life, or war.

In her presentation, Spiridonova will guide the audience through her creative process, which is both personal and observational. She left Russia following the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and her own experience of leaving informs her exploration of how people rebuild a sense of home and community. Through photographs and the stories behind their making, the talk will consider displacement not simply as an act of departure, but as a prolonged process of re-rooting. It will explore what happens to identity and belonging when home becomes inaccessible.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session, during which Spiridonova will be joined by special guest Furqat Palvan-Zade, a scholar and filmmaker who is currently a PhD student at Yale University.

A small reception will follow.

Speaker

Yulia Spiridonova, Artist; Adjunct Faculty, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston

Moderator

Furqat Palvan-Zade, Scholar, Filmmaker, PhD Student, Yale University

Organizer

Laura A. Sargent, Events Manager, Davis Center