Case insensitive: Names, bureaucracies, and assumptions across borders

Charis and Deborah have experienced first-hand how Western immigration systems and bureaucracies can disappear or mangle a name. This event was a collaborative exploration of the norms and conventions inherent in these systems and their underlying tech infrastructures. Through interactive exercises, participants discovered ways to reclaim a sense of play and self in these rigid systems.

Speakers

Deborah Germaine Augustin is a writer and educator from Petaling Jaya, famously dubbed “a sprawling, unremarkable suburb” by Tash Aw. She has an MFA in creative writing from Western Michigan University and has taught creative writing in the United States and Kuala Lumpur with a focus on place-based writing. She edits flash writing at Apogee Journal and works as the campaign and strategy lead at Freedom Film Network. Her work has appeared in Arts Equator, Plural Art, Popula, Catapult and khōréō. She dreams of a world where we all have freedom of movement.

Charis Loke is an illustrator, editor, and educator who tells stories with images. Her work takes root in both fictional and real-world cultures, whether she’s making maps for fantasy novels or art for board games about Malaysian markets and kaki lima. She has an MA in visual sociology from Goldsmiths with an interest in drawing and mapping as arts research. She also edits and curates non-fiction comics and illustrations for Southeast Asian non-profits and publishers, and develops community arts and culture projects with Arts-ED. View more of her work here.