Peacebuilding and the Arts

A performance artist raises their hands in the air and looks to the sky
Actors in gas masks stand on a stage holding up a ball that looks like Earth
A small group stands in a circle listening to someone talk
Two actors hold hands and look into each others' eyes.
A performance artist puts their hands in the air and looks to the side

Exploring the Contributions of Arts and Culture to Peace

Peacebuilding and the Arts is a program of the Samuels Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation (COMPACT) at Brandeis University.

The program focuses on the distinctive contributions of culture and the arts to the transformation of conflict. We collaborate with several departments and programs at Brandeis, including MusicUnitesUS, Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies (PAX), the Division of Creative Arts, and Brandeis Arts Engagement.

We collaborate with artists and organizations that work in divided communities, supporting them to reflect on, document, and strengthen their practice. The lessons from these collaborations are accessible through publications, trainings, courses, and our virtual resource center. Read more about why we need creative approaches to peacebuilding. Check out the Invite | Affirm | Evoke | Unleash: How artistic and cultural processes transform complex challenges report.

Past Projects

IMPACT

Housed at the Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts between 2017-2022, IMPACT launched as an independent global non-profit committed to the mission of advocating for the field of arts, culture and conflict transformation.

Acting Together Initiative

The "Acting Together" Project is undertaken in partnership with Theatre Without Borders and ReCAST, Inc.

The Work of Jane Wilburn Sapp

Documentation of the work of Jane Wilburn Sapp — a powerful and highly regarded performer, songwriter, recording artist and educator who engages with disenfranchised urban and rural communities in the United States and around the world.

A Way Out of No Way
A Way Out of No Way was a multi-media project that documented the forty-year practice of cultural work of the extraordinary musician, educator, activist and cultural worker, Jane Wilburn Sapp. 
Recasting Reconciliation Through Culture and the Arts: A Virtual Collection
This 2003-04 international fellowship program featured artists and cultural workers working in historically divided communities in South Africa, Sri Lanka, Burundi, Cambodia and New Zealand. Their papers, portfolios, analysis, and recommendations are for artists, cultural workers, peacebuilders, students, scholars and policymakers interested in the contributions of culture and the arts to coexistence and reconciliation.