In a world where nearly 60 million people have had to flee their homes due to violence, war, and oppression, it’s difficult for the luckier bunch of us to truly relate, let alone hear the brave stories of these individuals and families fleeing for their lives. The Moving People street art project, which is being displayed all around the city of Amsterdam, is using 3D printed sculptures to help tell these oftentimes untold stories. Curated by the Power of Art House art collective, the art exhibit hopes to get the general public to not only see this installation, but share it, talk about it, and sympathize with the struggle that lies behind the 3D printed miniature figurines.
Taking ten refugees from all over the globe, the Power of Art House created thousands of small 3D printed sculptures of these individuals or families, who in turn tell their story through the manner in which they are posed. First, the ten selected models were 3D scanned, modeled into miniature figurines, and 3D printed in bulk to expand their stories from a single refugee experience into a wide-ranging art installation.
The figurines measure to just 10 centimeters tall, and were molded out of an environmentally friendly silicone material. After the printing process is complete, every figurine is hand-painted, all of this being done in collaboration with the Amsterdam-based workshop run by Pantar. On the clothing of each figurine, those who discover these tiny 3D printed people will be led to the project’s website, where each one of the ten refugee stories will be told.
The street art installation will start taking Amsterdam by storm this month, and, though they will be placed in various spots around the city, the Power of Art House by no means expects them to remain there. In spirit with the migration stories they are trying to tell, the art collective is promoting those who find these figurines to ‘migrate’ them to other parts of city, effectively creating a project that anyone can engage with and learn from. These various refugees from places such as Somalia, Iraq, and Rwanda finally have a platform to share their experiences on. Although the stage may appear to be miniature in size, the voices behind these figurines are what speak the loudest. Using the social media hashtag #MovingPeople, the Power of Art House is hoping to have these 3D printed stories spread all around the world, helping us all to see that no matter where we come from or what are beliefs may be, we are all, first and foremost, an equal part of humanity.
