Local communities of artistic practices and the slow emergence of a “post-racial” generation*.

The paper sheds light on a neglected urban process in our heavily racialized and polarized contemporary societies: the slow emergence of an urban post-racial generation through artistic collaboration that is both locally rooted and transnationally connected. On the one hand, race and racism clearly still matter at the social and political levels. But, on the other hand, a part of urban youth transcends ethnic, racial, gender, class and religious boundaries in their daily lives. Used to living together whatever their assigned identity, they challenge, more or less consciously, mainstream racism and ethnicism through an active and intense collaboration in assorted artistic projects in various disciplines (music, dance, theatre, etc.). The paper, based on qualitative empirical data collected in two Belgian cities (Brussels and Liège), will document the existence of this “post-racial” generation and underline the necessity of studying it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]