Thursday, 28 March 2024

Event Details

'Ganó la gente/People have won', Anonymous. (Photo: Martin Melaugh)

'Ganó la gente/People have won', Anonymous. (Photo: Martin Melaugh)

 

Seminar:Art and Human Rights Network Day
Description: Art has an extraordinary role to play in the process of peacebuilding. In contexts in which war, migration and state-perpetrated violence has left painful legacies of collective trauma, the multivalence of the art object has immense significance. Art and museum exhibitions are uniquely placed to intersect the public space and facilitate commemoration and dialogue. There is a need for understanding on the value and agency of museum and art exhibitions, which are linked to issues of human rights.

This network event is supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and the Arts Council England (ACE) via the Exchange Project. It will bring together academics, artists and museum staff to discuss the value of exhibitions and the role of art in processes of peace building, reflecting on collective memory and providing trauma therapy. It will also explore the way artistic objects and museum artefacts from one context can be used for therapeutic purposes within a different context. Handling objects from a museum collection can help people work through anxieties and alienation and exercise remembrance. This allows people to heal by forming new narratives of self and of their shared experience.

The discussion will include an interview with Roberta Bacic, the curator of the Conflict Textiles collection and the seminar will be complemented by an exhibition of six arpilleras from the Conflict Textiles collection.

The event, which runs from 2-6pm, will be followed by a wine reception.

Web links:
University of Kent
Centre of Latin American Studies, University of Cambridge
Commissioned by: University of Kent, HEFCE & ACE via Exchange project
Date(s): 20th June 2017 - 20th June 2017
Venue: Centre of Latin American Studies (CLAS), University of Cambridge
Alison Richard Building, 7 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DT, England
Curator: Roberta Bacic
Facilitator: Dr. Lorna Dillon, University of Kent
Outcome: The main outcome from this event will be a reflective report on the collaborative intellectual and artistic exchange bringing together the academic perspective on works of art and exhibitions with the curatorial perspective. Our process will explore the value of the art object and the impact it can have. The report will explore the convergence of our different approaches to the value of art in the context of human rights and will detail our findings regarding the impact and value of exhibitions. We will record the interview with Roberta Bacic to create a podcast.




Documents: • Seminar programme - 20th June 2017 - view
• Seminar report - view