Migrant Constructions and Mahjar Monuments: Transnational Art and Architecture in Modern Argentina, 1910-1955

[摘要] This dissertation examines the art and architectural patronage of the Arabic-speaking diaspora (mahjar) in Latin America’s southern cone. It focuses on public memorials and spaces of collective strength and wealth (mutual aid associations, banks, and clubs), faith (places of worship) and health (hospitals) sponsored by these diverse immigrants in Argentina from the early to mid-twentieth century via archival records, site documentation, and interviews. By considering key monuments sponsored by this diaspora through the lens of modernism, I demonstrate how public sculpture and architecture helped reconstruct shifting transnational identities while activating multiple mobilities in a nation where their presence was first contested. Bridging the gap between migration studies and the humanities, I engage interdisciplinary methodologies to highlight the agency of immigrant artists, architects, and patrons in the shaping of transnational identities and modern movements in the southern cone.Mobility and temporality are two key concepts used to frame mahjar monuments (a term which describes the art and architecture crafted by the Arabic-speaking diaspora) as ;;migrant constructions”– public expressions of interconnected sites and multiple mobilities (social, economic, and ethnic) within the urban fabric. Whether circulated in print imagery or embodied by social clubs, migrant constructions not only represented their immigrant sponsors, but also the complex socio-economic trajectories of their patrons between the host country and the ;;old country,” as well as the transnational and transcultural identities negotiated at the intersection of local and global imaginaries. My project contributes to a greater understanding of diverse transatlantic dialogues circulating in Latin America, as well as the vital role of diaspora communities in the crafting of modernity across the Americas.

[发布机构] Rice University

[效力级别] art