Drawing an archive of migration struggles

Inspired by scholarly calls for archives that connect different justice claims across times and geographies, this article examines the Colours of a Journey (CoJ) archive, focusing on its visions and practices of documenting, curating and disseminating migration struggles. Using an ethnographic approach, the article investigates what constitutes an archival record of migration struggles and the practices that support such an archive. The argument unfolds in three parts. First, the CoJ archive is situated within discussions of archives as sites for migration justice struggles, proposing a model that rejects hierarchies of knowledge, memories and classifications, instead fostering encounters among diverse experiences, memories, bodies and objects. Second, the article analyses drawings as a core element of the archive, interpreting them as knowledge-making tools that interweave varied migration experiences. Third, it explores how the CoJ archive’s commitment to epistemic diversity is reflected in exhibitions, art performances and public displays, highlighting the interplay between archival structure and public engagement.