Welcome
Introduction to the Virtual Resource Center
VRC Staff and Partners
Introduction to the Virtual Resource Center
Creative Resources for Coexistence and Reconciliation is a virtual resource center designed to share the learning generated through a hands-on research initiative housed in the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence at Brandeis University. The initiative, called Creative Approaches to Coexistence and Reconciliation, explores the ways in which cultural traditions and the arts can be crafted to bridge differences and mediate conflicts. Through projects, fellowships, consultancies, and residencies, we collaborate with artists who work in divided communities, supporting them to strengthen, document, and reflect on their practice. The learning that results from these collaborations is made accessible to others through publications, trainings, courses, and through this virtual resource center.
The Challenges of Building Peace
Peacebuilding scholars and practitioners increasingly recognize that sustainable peace requires more than cognitive, rational engagement. In the conflicts that plague our world today, violence too often insinuates itself into the psyches and spirits, the bodies and souls of both children and adults. These conflicts are not amenable to transformation through rational processes alone. They require modes of expression that embrace paradox and give voice to thoughts and feelings that defy words. Cultural work and the arts offer resources for waging conflicts non-violently, transforming relationships in the aftermath of violence, and building the capacities required for peace.
The Contributions of Arts and Culture
In conflict regions throughout the world, artists and cultural workers are creating works and facilitating processes that foster the capacities required for peace: receptivity, creativity, imagination, compassion, and the ability to embrace paradox. In times of destruction and war, artists assert the power of creativity and counteract the demonization of the enemy. They bear witness to suffering and draw the world's attention to those whose rights have been abused. In the aftermath of violence, cultural workers adapt traditional rituals to help communities grieve losses. Musicians create opportunities for wordless collaborations across differences, and visual artists construct physical spaces where the histories and cultures of opposing groups can be validated and shared. Improvisational theater helps people from communities in conflict develop more nuanced understandings of their own and each others' narratives. These are just a very few examples of the many ways in which artists and cultural workers contribute to peacebuilding efforts.
The Role of Creative Approaches to Coexistence and Reconciliation
Although artists and cultural workers are already at work in many regions throughout the world, there is little recognition for their work among policy-makers, funders, and peacebuilding practitioners working through more conventional modes of mediation, diplomacy, and dialogue. Our inquiry is designed to help artists document what they are doing, reflect on their practice, grapple with the dilemmas facing them, make their learning accessible to others, and network with peacebuilders working through other approaches. We support artists through fellowship programs and projects that bring them into conversation with each other and with peacebuilding scholars and practitioners. We also assist artists and cultural workers in developing written and creative documentation of their work, including evidence of its effectiveness. Through conferences, symposia, and publications, we are bringing attention to this area of work, adding to its legitimacy.
Our primary project is a series of anthologies, each of which focuses on the contributions of one particular genre. We are currently at work on the first anthology, on theatre, ritual and building peace. This project is undertaken as part of Coexistence International at Brandeis University in collaboration with Theatre Without Borders.
For further information about the VRC or the Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence, please send us a message using the comment form below, or contact us at:
Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence
Brandeis University -- MS 086
PO Box 549110
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
Phone: 781-736-5001
Fax: 781-736-8561
Email: coexistence@brandeis.edu
We hope this site contributes to your understanding and your work. We welcome your comments and suggestions!