Last chance to explore the AspirE exhibition at ULB-VUB site Usquare

If you are in Brussels, we invite you to visit the AspirE exhibition at ULB-VUB site Usquare, open until 31 January 2026.

Over three years, AspirE has examined the decision-making of aspiring (re)migrants across Asia and Europe. While the project produces traditional academic outputs (reports, policy briefs, and scholarly publications), it also explores creative ways to communicate research: podcasts, documentaries, a comic book, and exhibitions.

This exhibition draws on two larger AspirE installations previously created in Portugal and Thailand, now recreated on a smaller scale. It features the Catalogue of Avatars, derived from 284 video diaries collected from over 60 participants in 11 countries, in which participants recorded their emotions, hopes, and concerns about (re)migration. Each participant selected an “avatar”, an object, landscape, or scene representing their emotional state, allowing visitors to see migration through the eyes of those who live it.

The exhibition also highlights the Thailand–Finland migration corridor, where thousands of Thai workers travel seasonally for berry picking. Through photographs, testimonies, and other documentation, visitors can engage with the aspirations, challenges, and everyday realities of transnational labour mobility.

Together, these installations invite visitors to experience migration not just through analysis, but through images, creative interpretation, and personal storytelling, revealing the complexity and humanity behind movement across borders. Entrance is free of charge.

📢 Stay tuned: The exhibition will soon move to a new location on the ULB campus, extending its visibility and offering more opportunities for the public to engage with the project.