This paper endeavors to understand the role of arts in migration-related issues by offering insights into the different ways in which artistic practices can be used by migrants and investigating migrants’ differing objectives in participating in the arts. Through the exploration of the initiatives of undocumented and refugee migrants involved in artistic groups in Belgium, this paper compares the motivations of the performers and concludes that art can operate as an empowering tool for migrants as it constitutes a space for agency, notwithstanding the specific scope of which it is contextually charged. It allows migrants to render themselves visible or invisible, depending on their contrasting motivations. The creative productions of the first group, composed by members of “La Voix des sans papiers de Liège”, a collective of undocumented migrants, corresponds to an explicit effort of political engagement in the local context. The other examples are of undocumented and refugee artists joining musical groups with no specific aim of promoting the cause of undocumented and refugee persons. The choice to be involved in such groups highlights their desire to be, in some ways, invisible and anonymous while participating in this collective of artists. Through these examples, we see that art offers opportunities for migrants to actively participate in the socio-cultural and political environment in which they reside and to claim various forms of official and unofficial belonging whether it occurs through visibility or invisibility.

This article presents empirical findings from the H2020 CHILD UP project with an investigation of the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on migrant children’s education and wellbeing in school. It aims to understand if and how the new education landscape and hybrid learning initiatives have changed inclusive education efforts geared towards migrant students in two Communities of Belgium. ‘Inclusive education’ is a key term often used in pedagogical discourse and describes an ideal situation where the unique, individual educational needs of each child can be met while the child remains in the mainstream classroom. The particular needs of migrant students, however, are often overlooked in inclusive education discourse, and their position can become even more complicated with the added pressures of the pandemic. Through questionnaires and interviews with students, teachers, and other school actors, we found that migrant students were often disproportionately negatively impacted by hybrid and remote learning measures, but that the situation also offered some surprising opportunities for mentoring and peer support and these contrasting outcomes are presented here.

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