Peacebuilding and the Arts

Including

• an interview with Daria Pugachova, multidisciplinary artist from Ukraine, speaking about “the element of fear in art…, her experiences with other international refugees, and her own personal transformation as a performative artist” 

• recent books, podcasts, and articles that offer insights into the experiences of other Ukrainians – musicians, theater students, journalists, and additional everyday folks – over these years of hardship and terror.

• Including INSPIRE Art Award of  the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), the premiere of A Deepest Blue, the latest creation by Cambodian choreographer Prumsodun Ok, the premiere of How to Eat an Orange by Catherine Filloux, the Dangerous Art, Endangered Artists Summit presented by Artists at Risk Connection, and others.

• Including a list of novels engaging with issues of human rights and social justice, artist spotlight on Dessa Puessada Palm, theater practitioner and peace and social change from the Philippines, and events, resources, and opportunities.

• Including tributes for Dr. Cynthia Cohen, the founder and the first director of the Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts as she retires and her reflections on A Passion for Life project, stories from artists and cultural workers in the face of the crisis in the Middle East, Catherine Filloux's review of Adalet R. Garmiany's award-winning film Mosul, my Home, and others.

• Including the highlights of the populations at risk in Sudan and Nagorno-Karabakh (the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflcit), repatriation of looted art and antiques, spotlight on Mea Lath, choreographer and performer of Khmer (Cambodian) classical dance, a report on sessions of the 22nd Century Conference: Forging a People-Powered Democracy on the contributions of arts and culture to pro-democracy, antiauthoritarian movements, 'Stories of Water' walking tour in Bangalore, India, and others.

• Including updates on Sudan, reflections on the Rotterdam International Community Arts Festival 2023 edition, an interview with a Festival artist from Tanzania Samwel Japhet Silas, a spotlight on another artist from Iraq Amin Al-Badra, a story on how the 20th-century comics intersect with racial justice concerns in the United States, launch of a new book We are the Ripple Effect: Theatre of Witness in Northern Ireland, and others.

• Including Recent publications and reports engaging with creativity in the face of violence, human rights abuses, and the climate crisis, artist spotlight: Peter Rockford Espiritu, events, opportunities and resource.

• Including: our lead article Art Unleashes! focusing on a section of the large report Invite | Affirm | Evoke | Unleash: How arts and culture contribute to the transformation of complex challenges; a story on Taiko drumming and the Buraku community in Osaka, Japan, and more.

• Including: our lead article Art Evokes! focusing on a section of the large report Invite | Affirm | Evoke | Unleash: How arts and culture contribute to the transformation of complex challenges; links to a number of human rights film festivals around the globe; links to stories on Cambodian dance archive; Culture of Sustainability walking tour and more.

• Including: our lead article Art Affirms! focusing on a section of the large report Invite | Affirm | Evoke | Unleash: How arts and culture contribute to the transformation of complex challenges; links to a number of articles that grapple with various aspects of the gendered experience of war in Ukraine; links to stories how artists around the world continue responding to the horrors of the war in Ukraine; new documentary on Tibetan dance and more.

• Including four articles by Dr. Katja Kolcio of Wesleyan University in the U.S., who writes about the cultural and historical contexts of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasions in 2014 and 2022;
  reflections from Kyiv-based curator, writer, and lindy hop dancer Larissa Babij, and a list of links to articles and websites with information and stories about
  ·   Ukrainian artists and arts;
  ·   other artists’ responses to this crisis;
  ·   performances, presentations, and events; and 
  ·   education and action.

• Including launch of IMPACT as an independent global non-profit, Art Invites! – our lead article – focuses on a section of the large report Invite | Affirm | Evoke | Unleash: How arts and culture contribute to the transformation of complex challenges, completed by IMPACT (Imagining Together Platform for Arts and Conflict Transformation) in August 2021, the climate crises, COVID-19 and the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, anniversary of Acting Together Project and more.

• Including story of Haitian artists in diaspora auctioning their artwork to help pay for humanitarian aid in the areas of Haiti hardest hit by the earthquake, reflections by CEC ArtsLink  fellow at the Program in Peacebuilding and the Arts Yosra El-Gazzar, the overview of the Culture and Sustainability learning exchange, launch of the Invite|Affirm|Evoke|Unleash report, the story of the Festival au Desert of Mali presented at the Buffer Fringe Performing Arts festival and more.

• Including an essay by ethnomusicologist Michael Lindsey, who studied at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, stories from and about Afghan artists, and links to additional information regarding possibilities for action in support of those caught in this emergency.

Including artists' responses on anti-Asian hate and other justice issues and escalation of violence in the Middle East, spotlight on selected artists by IMPACT Leadership Circle members, IMPACT's partnership with Community Arts Network within 'Making the Case' research project, announcement on the upcoming "Culture as Sustainability" Learning Exchange and more.

Including stories from artists and art on one year of the pandemic, some innovative approaches in countering intimate partner violence during the pandemic, spotlight on selected artists by IMPACT Leadership Circle members, thoughts on sustainability and culture in English and Spanish, emerging partnership between IMPACT and The Festival Academy and more.

Launching the IMPACT section of the e-newsletter, featuring the international virtual events that IMPACT has engaged with, including the UNESCO Art-Lab, DAH Theatre Arts and Human Rights Festival, and others. The issue also features reflections of artists and scholars on the possibilities for 2021, and more.

Including the art of getting out the vote in the US, creative approaches to climate change, summaries of the Imagining Together/Acting Together Learning Exchange, overview of Creative Approaches to Gender-Based Violence in Africa Learning Exchange; Thinking Partners initiative - cooperation between Buffer Fringe Festival and IMPACT, and much more.

Including creative responses and calls of action for racial justice, video podcast series where artist and cultural worker Jane Sapp offers specific songs to the current demand for racial justice, an overview of the IMPACT April Learning Exchange in English and Spanish and the upcoming Learning Exchange in September, IMPACT's new partnership with Buffer Fringe Festival, and more.

Including creative responses to the global pandemic and relief resources for artists, upcoming IMPACT virtual learning exchanges in April 2020, reflections from Cindy Cohen on participating in the Art-Lab/Design Thinking Jam in Geneva and the Art at Risk conference in Zurich, reflections on IMPACT's year of convening Leadership Circle meetings, and more.

Announcing the launch of new digital resources from Acting Together on the World Stage (ATWS), including a new website, a new mini-doc, and more.

Including updates about upcoming IMPACT virtual learning exchanges in April 2020, past year IMPACT strategy gathering and regional gatherings, upcoming 2020 IMPACT global convening at ICAF,  and news from the field on the featured theme "Artistic and cultural dimensions of protest movements around the globe."

Including updates about the IMPACT virtual learning exchange on April 26, 2019 and featured news from the field.

Including updates about IMPACT: Imagining Together such as the 2019 virtual learning exchanges, partnership with ICAF, and planning for youth leadership, remembering John O'Neal, news from the field on featured theme "The Impact of Authoritarian Regimes on Artistic Freedom and Expression."

Including updates about IMPACT: Imagining Together, announcement about Let’s Make a Better World: Stories and Songs by Jane Sapp, news from the field on featured theme "Creative Reflections on Human Migration," news from the field on featured theme and "Artists Respond to Climate Change."

Including updates about IMPACT: Imagining Together Platform for Arts, Culture and Conflict Transformation and co-convening of online learning exchanges.

Including a focus on arts and social change in Kenya, and announcement of a new project IMPACT: Imagining Together: Platform For Arts, Culture And Conflict Transformation.

Including a focus and news from the field on featured theme of the role of art in times of polarization, nationalization, and isolation, and peacebuilding and the arts initiatives in the Middle East.

Including a focus and news from the field on featured theme of the roles of artists in a time of moral crisis.

Including reflections on arts and the 2016 presidential election, news from the field on featured theme "Creative Engagement with Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability," and additional resources & opportunities.

Including reflections on municipalities and violence prevention through the lenses of arts and culture, news from the field on featured theme "African-led Initiatives at the Intersection of the Arts and Social Transformation," CAST Design Labs and Reports, and additional resources and opportunities.

Including reflections on the impact of armed conflict on cultural heritage by Kristin Parker of the Rose Art Museum, updates from some of Acting Together small grants recipients, CAST Design Labs and Reports, and additional resources and opportunities.