Keywords
drawing
memory
ethnography
collaboration
migration
How to Cite
Abstract
This article examines the collaborative use of animation and drawing in ethnographic research to explore the memories and imaginative worlds of people who have experienced the illegal crossing of the Mediterranean. Working with three Egyptian men in Italy, anthropologist Alexandra D’Onofrio and animator Francesca Cogni invited participants to engage in storytelling, photography, and participatory animation to reflect on their crossing experiences. A key methodological experiment was animating without a storyboard, enabling improvised drawing and the co-creation of narratives in real time. This approach encouraged participants to reimagine their past and represent their experiences as they unfolded, supported by the animator’s expertise in drawing and stop-motion techniques. The process foregrounded participants’ agency in shaping their own accounts while challenging conventional ethnographic methods. In this context, animation emerges as both a creative and ethical practice, offering anthropologists a dynamic tool for collaboration and generating new insights into the fluid ways in which memories and identities are formed.Antze, P., & Lambek, M. .1996). Tense Past: Cultural Essays in Trauma and Memory, Routldedge.
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