‘LIMINAL Spaces: Migration and Women of the Guyanese Diaspora’ a new book that chronicles the migration narratives of 15 women of Guyanese heritage, was launched virtually earlier this week.

The book, edited by Grace Aneiza Ali, is published by Open Book Publishers (Cambridge, UK, 2020) and its open-access edition is freely available to readers. It spans diverse inter-generational perspectives – from those who leave Guyana, and those who are left – and seven seminal decades of Guyana’s history – from the 1950s to the present day – bringing the voices of women to the fore.

The volume is conceived of as a visual exhibition on the page; a four-part journey navigating the contributors’ essays and artworks, allowing the reader to trace the migration path of Guyanese women from their moment of departure, to their arrival on diasporic soils, to their reunion with Guyana.
Liminal Spaces unpacks the global realities of migration, challenging and disrupting dominant narratives associated with Guyana, its colonial past, and its post-colonial present as a ‘disappearing nation’.

Multimodal in approach, the volume combines memoir, creative non-fiction, poetry, photography, art and curatorial essays to collectively examine the mutable notion of ‘homeland’, and grapple with ideas of place and accountability.

This volume is said to be a welcomed contribution to the scholarly field of international migration, transnationalism, and diaspora, both in its creative methodological approach and in its subject area – as one of the only studies published on Guyanese diaspora.

It is expected to be of great interest to those studying women and migration, and scholars and students of diaspora studies.
Through their art, photography, poetry, memoir-essays and curatorial practices, the contributors bring the voices of women to the fore—unveiling how their experiences of migration from Guyana to global metropolises of London, New York, Toronto, and beyond, have indelibly shaped their lives as they grapple with ideas of homeland, place, and accountability.
One of the contributors, who spoke to the Buzz is Dominique Hunter, a multi-disciplinary artist who lives and works in Guyana, where she was born. Her artistic practice critiques the (non)-representation of Black female bodies in art history and stereotypical portrayals in contemporary print media.

Her recent work has expanded to include strategies for coping with the weight of those impositions by examining the value of self-care practices. Hunter has exhibited both in the Caribbean and in the US. She has been an Artist-in-Residence with Caribbean Linked IV and the Vermont Studio Center, where she was awarded the Reed Foundation Fellowship.

“The book…talks about those who leave, those who are left behind and those who choose to stay. It’s a more abstract text that talks about my reluctance to leave Guyana and the toll [that] choosing to stay in a less-than-ideal space for creative professionals takes on my mental/emotional health,” she explained about her submission.
Khadija Benn, another contributor, was born in Canada to Guyanese parents and currently lives and works in Guyana as a geospatial analyst. She is a faculty member of the Department of Geography at the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Guyana.

Her research focuses on digital cartography, community development, and place attachment. As a self-taught photographer, her practice is formed around portraiture and documentary work.

Her images have been exhibited at Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art (USA), CARIFESTA XIII (Barbados), the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (USA), and Addis Foto Fest (Ethiopia); and featured in ARC Magazine and Transition Magazine.