New York-based, Italian-born multimedia artist Andrea Mastrovito has been commissioned by More Art to create NYsferatu, a public art project that combines film, music, and community engagement to create a statement about immigrant rights. The work is especially important in the United States where anti-immigrant rhetoric has threatened the security of those seeking refuge.
The project draws on the story of Dracula from Friedrich W. Murnau's seminal 1922 film Nosferatu. Mastrovito and his team will hand animate the story in the original film’s classic style while the background of contemporary New York City will situate the film in the present day. “In all, the artist will make over 35 000 original drawings to create this feature-length hand-animated film,” reads More Art’s Kickstarter campaign.
Using workshops with immigrants, Mastrovito’s creation will adapt the Dracula narrative to explore the viewpoint of the “other”.
“The story of Dracula - depicted in NYsferatu - is historically told from the perspective of the insider and never of the other,” reads the crowdfunding campaign. “NYsferatu flips the script, creating a platform for our immigrant neighbours to tell the story of how xenophobia affects them and how common perceptions are all too often harmfully inaccurate.”
More Art plans to present a series of free film screenings in parks and venues across New York City once the title cards have been written in Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, and English.
