The Uncommon (Travel Area) is a performance piece by Belfast-based artist, Bojana Janković in our Basement Gallery, about migrant’s experiences of Ireland, for one day only.

The piece follows public buses as they make their way across the island, connecting people across an invisible, frictionless border. Evidencing the CTA in action, the buses are an example of exclusions faced by local migrants, many of whom need visas to cross the border. The Uncommon charts this migrant hard border as it is performed and conjured up daily: every time a bus crosses the border, an immigration stamp is added to the wall.

The performance is an invitation to local and migrant audiences to gain insight into migrants’ experiences and share their own experiences of Dundalk and Ireland. Stamp the wall to mark your own border crossings and add graffiti on how you imagine a migrant-inclusive Ireland.

Artist Janković works at the intersection of performance, participation, and migrant rights. Her performances, installations, texts, and non-denominational works have appeared in physical and digital spaces in the UK, Serbia, and internationally, including in Tate Modern (London), Center for Art on Migration Politics (Copenhagen), and in collaboration with Home Live Art (Hastings) and Performing Arts Hub (Norway).

The Uncommon (Travel Area) was originally commissioned by the Centre for Contemporary Art (Derry) and is supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.