Good Immigrants (Fiction)

A literary art book about female immigration in Zurich

Good Immigrants is a short work of fiction by award-winning author Mariana Villas-Boas. Based on her own experience as an immigrant in Zurich, the author wants to expand the narratives we tell about immigration and so brings together a chorus of female voices who unveil the misunderstandings, silences and power dynamics that affect female immigrants within Zurich.

This literary work subverts traditional storytelling by adopting unusual visual elements that echo the imagery and research of the French-Canadian visual artist Kapwani Kiwanga, winner of the Zurich Art Prize in 2022 (Haus Konstruktiv). It is a tribute to her extraordinary work.

We would all benefit from more nuanced conversations about immigration and art may just help us get there.

When Mariana shared the work with early readers in Zurich, few were indifferent. Some women felt deeply seen, while others were very eager to deny the experiences portrayed. Despite the cool, factual language, some people were even slightly angered. Mariana thought this was very interesting and realized this literary work needs to be shared with a wider audience. It promises to start some very fruitful and even necessary conversations.

To quote fellow writer Rita Bulwinkel, «no technology can mimic the feeling of being inside someone else’s mind better than literary fiction.»

And immigration is one of the most knotted issues of our time.

This campaign is all or nothing. We need your support to cover production costs.

Our campaign with Exile Projects now seeks to fund the production costs, including printing, design, and distribution, to bring this thought-provoking work (written in English) to readers in the U.S., Switzerland, and Portugal.

Specifically, we need 7000 CHF to cover production, printing and distribution costs for our literary art book.

As thanks for your support, Mariana and Amanda have created a great list of rewards and look forward to sharing our journey with you.