They Call Me Asylum Seeker
They Call Me Asylum Seeker
THEY CALL ME ASYLUM SEEKER is part of QUEER IN A TIME OF FORCED MIGRATION, an award-winning, multi-platform project that follows the stories of LGBTQ refugees across continents and cultures—from the 2011 Revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa region to the world today.
THEY CALL ME ASYLUM SEEKER is part of QUEER IN A TIME OF FORCED MIGRATION, an award-winning, multi-platform project that follows the stories of LGBTQ refugees across continents and cultures—from the 2011 Revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa region to the world today.
How do you choose between the place and the people you love?
Narrated by Sudanese artist Ahmed Umar and with illustrations by Mohammed Abd El-Hadi of Jordan, THEY CALL ME ASYLUM SEEKER is a web-based interactive experience that follows four LGBTQ people from the Egyptian Revolution in 2011 to the migrant and refugee “crisis” in Europe today.
Weaving together an audio documentary with stylized animations, interactive features allow audiences to explore chapters of the story at their own pace.
THEY CALL ME ASYLUM SEEKER is part of QUEER IN A TIME OF FORCED MIGRATION, an award-winning, multi-platform project that follows the stories of LGBTQ refugees across continents and cultures—from the 2011 Revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa region to the world today.
Combining intimate, first-person audio accounts with visceral animation in a film (HALF A LIFE), VR experience (ANOTHER DREAM), and web interactive (THEY CALL ME ASYLUM SEEKER), it shares the experiences of queer people of color from Egypt, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia firsthand.
QUEER IN A TIME OF FORCED MIGRATION was recently on exhibit at the Amsterdam Museum and is available to tour to museums, galleries, and educational institutions worldwide.
Our work
Anouschka
When your song is silenced, how do you rekindle your magic in the world? Join Anouschka, a teenage violin prodigy, as she rediscovers her city, her family history, and ultimately herself.
Where There is Light
The need to recalibrate, reflect, and center mental wellness after uncertain years drove artist Tamara Shogaolu to develop WHERE THERE IS LIGHT. Inspired by the practice of forest bathing and by the Panamanian rainforest, WHERE THERE IS LIGHT is an interactive installation that merges mental wellness with nature through technology by allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a rainforest.
Un(re)solved AR Installation
Un(re)solved tells the stories of civil rights era cold cases and families still searching for justice.
Queer in time of a forced migration
Multi-Platform Project (Film, VR Experience, & Web Interactive) Follow the journeys of LGBTQ refugees from the Middle East across continents and cultures—from the 2011 Revolutions to the world today. Animated Transmedia Series consisting Another Dream, Half a Life and They Call Me Asylum Seeker.
Web Interactive
Audiences can choose how to experience and navigate through They Call Me Asylum Seeker. They can experience through sight and sound, either on the web (using a computer and browser) or as an extended 3D audio piece. They can explore the web experience using a trackpad or mouse, either by scrolling or by clicking and dragging. They are presented with each chapter of the story and can choose to listen to each one at their own pace, or to go through the full experience all at once. Within each chapter, they can also choose to pause or go back to certain parts of the stories.
THEY CALL ME ASYLUM SEEKER is part of QUEER IN A TIME OF FORCED MIGRATION, an award-winning, multi-platform project that follows the stories of LGBTQ refugees across continents and cultures—from the 2011 Revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa region to the world today. Combining intimate, first-person audio accounts with visceral animation in a film (HALF A LIFE), VR experience (ANOTHER DREAM), and web interactive (THEY CALL ME ASYLUM SEEKER), it shares the experiences of queer people of color from Egypt, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia first-hand. QUEER IN A TIME OF FORCED MIGRATION was recently on exhibit at the Amsterdam Museum and is available to tour to museums, galleries, and educational institutions worldwide.
Exhibited at:
Gallery
Partners
Credits
Created & Produced by Tamara Shogaolu
Producer - Lauren Dubowksi
Producer - Riyad Alnwili
Producer - Marcela Stolzmann
Associate Producer - Nada El-Kouny
Line Producer - Jamari Perry
Audio Story Editor - Sarah Barrett
Sound Designer - Sadah Espii Proctor
Illustrator - Mohammed Abd El-Hadi
Animator - Nathan Fernee
Animator - Riyad Alnwili
3D Animation Intern - James Wright
Web Developer - Arnout Jansen
Audio Story Narrator - Ahmed Umar