Peacebuilding and the Arts

News

• How Art Survives under Authoritarianism By Isaac Kaplan (Artsy) — Some of the most important American artworks created during the eras of mutually assured destruction were by marginalized artists repressed by an ostensibly free society.
• What is the role of art under authoritarianism? (Kenyon Review) — What is the role of art in a time of fake news and fake defense? What is the role of art under authoritarianism?... What is the role of art in a regime where the story is controlled and dissenting stories are accused of being controlled? 
• Chunwan, Art and Authoritarianism: Can art flourish under an authoritarian regime? (The Diplomat) — "...For a long time, Western societies have prided themselves on protecting artistic freedom from government restriction, from the First Amendment to the American Constitution to Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In a word, it is generally believed that authoritarianism is a threat to art..."
• "We Can All Be in Different Worlds": Ralph Rugoff's Venice Biennale Will Respond to the Rise of Fake News — "Art cannot stem the rise of nationalist movements and authoritarian governments in different parts of the world... nor can it alleviate the tragic fate of displaced peoples across the globe," [Rugoff] said. Nevertheless, "in an indirect fashion, perhaps art can be a kind of guide for how to live and think in 'interesting times.' "
• Why Authoritarians Attack the Arts (The New York Times) — "...as Hitler understood, artists play a distinctive role in challenging authoritarianism. Art creates pathways for subversion, for political understanding and solidarity among coalition builders. Art teaches us that lives other than our own have value."
• Turkey Cracks Down on Cultural Workers and Academics Tied to Detained Philanthropist (Hyperallergic) — As Osman Kavala, an acclaimed Turkish cultural philanthropist, enters his second year imprisoned in solitary confinement without charge, the arrests of 20 of his affiliates expose the double-standards of Turkey's treatment of its own dissidents following the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
• MASS Action (Museums As Site for Social Action) — MASS Action (Museums As Site for Social Action) is a movement that intends to reshape the model of what a 21st-century museum can be. The Minneapolis Institute of Art, in collaboration with stakeholders across the field, is creating a platform for public dialogues on a variety of topics and issues affecting our communities locally and globally, leading to actionable practices for greater equity and inclusion in their institutions.

Arts

• A Romanian Artist Tackles Art and Freedom in Authoritarian Times — Geta Brătescu's work positions the artist as a creator of freedom even in oppressive times
• 4 Historical Art Movements That Arose in the Wake of Authoritarian Regimes — "...Works that question authority and challenge the status quo flourish during the most tumultuous of times, but what comes afterward? Below are four movements, selected from Phaidon's 'Art in Time,' that found artists responding to the aftermath of troubled political times..." 
• Ai Weiwei: The artwork that made me the most dangerous person in China — "In 2009, the dissident artist created a work to honour the thousands of children who died in the Sichuan earthquake. He recalls how the project, Remembering, angered China's rulers — and changed his career for ever… "

Resources

• International Arts and Rights Advisors (IARA) — IARA is a collective of arts and human rights experts based in Italy.
• Artists At Risk Connection (ARC) — Artists speak for all of us, but artistic freedom is under assault. ARC supports artists everywhere so they can live and work without fear.
• Artwatch Africa (Arterial Network) — Artwatch Africa aims to assert, promote and defend artist rights and freedom of creative expression for artists and cultural practitioners in Africa.
• International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) — Based in Norway, the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) is an independent organisation of cities and regions offering shelter to writers and artists at risk, advancing freedom of expression, defending democratic values and promoting international solidarity.)
• City of Asylum — Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the organization City of Asylum creates a thriving community for writers, readers, and neighbors. We provide sanctuary to endangered literary writers, so that they can continue to write and their voices are not silenced.
• National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) — NCAC's mission is to promote freedom of thought, inquiry and expression and oppose censorship in all its forms.
• "Imaginings: A DIY Guide to Arts-Based Community Dialogue" — USDAC's newest publication, "Imaginings: A DIY Guide to Arts-Based Community Dialogue" provides everything you need to know to host a vibrant, creative, equitable and powerful community dialogue.
• Cultural Rights: Tenth Anniversary Report — To mark the 10th anniversary of the mandate on cultural rights and the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur provides an overview of the work of her mandate since its creation in 2009 and suggests strategies for advancing cultural rights during the next decade.
• Voice4Thought — Voice4Thought (V4T) is a digital and offline platform that provides a space for voices from around the world to express their thoughts. V4T supports artists, academics, journalists, bloggers, and others who are engaged in socio-political change.

Arts

• Music & Migration (In Sound in Europe) — Read pieces reflecting on the intersection of music and migration, including a feature on a press statement given by the organisers of the World Music Expo (WOMEX), ‘Against Xenophobia and Pro Diversity.’ 
• The Art of Migration — In the summer of 2018, an artist, a dancer, a professional traveler and a U.S. immigration lawyer embark on a 10,000+ mile journey through 20+ countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, to raise awareness about migration and to explore culture and identity through public art, conversation and storytelling.
• Refugees Welcome: 15 Pieces of Street Art and Graffiti from Europe and beyond — Showing Solidarity in the ongoing Refugee Crisis Aesthetics of Crisis
• CAMP: A Unique Center For Art Engaging Migration — CAMP is a nonprofit exhibition space for art discussing questions of displacement, migration, immigration, and asylum.
• Crossing Borders: Immigration and American Culture (Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)) — A digital exhibition highlighting artists who immigrated to the U.S., often as refugees in search of safe haven, bringing their ideas and talents with them. Part of a series of called Citizens and Borders offering a critical perspective on histories of migration, territory, and displacement.
• 13 Artists On: Immigration (New York Times) 
• Art on immigration/migration by Ricardo Levins Morales
• Room to Breathe, Migration Museum Project — Room to Breathe is an immersive experience inviting you to discover stories from generations of new arrivals to Britain.

Resources

• When Art and Migration Policy Meet By Dina Ionesco, Head of Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) at the International Organization on Migration (IOM) — An essay on how art can help bring better understanding to address environmental migration, or migration caused by progressive changes in the environment.

Arts

• 10 Artists on What Climate Change Actually Looks Like (OutsideOnline) — Yoro ventured into the devastating aftermath of recent wildfires painting a mural inspired by the need to grow new thoughts on preserving and protecting land.
• Indicators: Artists on Climate Change (Storm King Art Center, New York) — The exhibit was a platform for seventeen contemporary artists to present work that engages with some of the many challenges — scientific, cultural, personal, psychological — that climate change has brought to humankind. 
• Resilience in the Age of Climate Change (Google Arts & Culture) — Visionary artists and architects explore the specter of a warming planet.
• 8 Ways Architects and Artists are Fighting Climate Change By Beatrice Galilee, Associate Curator, Metropolitan Museum of Art — "I find it intriguing to see how architects and artists, in their roles as thinkers and producers, are absorbing and reacting to these changing environments. I see architects working with rocket scientists to invent new types of power plants, and artists collaborating with NASA to take spectacular photographs of fast-melting ice caps...."
• Designed in California (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art) — This exhibit explored the shifting landscape of design in California since the digital revolution, this exhibition focuses on designs that are human-centered, socially conscious, and driven by new technological capacity.
• 18 Green Artists Who Are Making Climate Change And Conservation A Priority (Huffington Post) — "Tying together the scientific and creative worlds in acts of beauty and activism, sculptors, painters, photographers and more have the power to make environmentalism a priority and bring green initiatives to the forefront of cultural conversations."

Resources

• The Art of Transformation: New study shows how the arts contribute to knowledge-creation and transformations around climate change (Stockholm Resilience Center) — A new study demonstrates how the role of arts in addressing climate change solutions is understated. 
• Pacific climate change adaptation: The use of participatory media to promote indigenous knowledge — "Pacific Island communities are increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change... This article discusses a project undertaken with a community on Andra Island, Manus Province, Papua New Guinea."
• Podcast — Guy Abrahams: How Arts Can Shape a Discussion about Climate Change (On Purpose) — Guy Abrahams, the Co-founder of CLIMARTE, discusses the anthropological influence on climate change and the success story of the message received from the arts outweighing the money value received from the big oil company.
• As Climate Changes, We Need the Arts More than Ever (The Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota) — In tumultuous times, art can and must express the turmoil and help us process what's going on.
• Climate Change: Can artists have any influence? (Tate) — As the environment slides down the list of governmental priorities, JM Ledgard and Alastair Smart discuss whether artists can really make a difference.
• Just Vision — Just Vision increases the power and reach of Palestinians and Israelis working to end the occupation and build a future of freedom, dignity and equality for all.
• International Storytelling Center — The cornerstone of the International Storytelling Center (ISC) is a belief in a single, immutable principle of life — storytelling. People crave, remember, and honor stories. And now, after years of scientific research in 17 different fields, analysts conclude that storytelling is our most powerful tool for effective communication.