Event Details
Arpilleras Poéticas book cover (Photo: Martin Melaugh, © Conflict Textiles) |
| Presentation, dialogue and discussion: | Threads of Memory: Poetry, Conflict Textiles, and Transitional Justice in Chile |
| Description: | 23rd January 2026
4-5.30 pm
Event Organiser and Chair: Dr Anita Ferrara
Curator: Roberta Bacic
Speakers: Roberta Bacic, Dr Kate Quinn, and Dr Rachel Robinson
Poetry Translation and Reading: Lorna Shaughnessy
Music: Pamela Luque
Threads of Memory: Poetry, Conflict Textiles, and Transitional Justice in Chile
Hosted by the Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway
This interdisciplinary event explores how art and poetry act as forms of testimony and resistance in the aftermath of political violence. Focusing on Chile’s experience of dictatorship and its long search for truth and justice, the session highlights the evocative power of arpilleras poéticas—textile artworks and poetic expressions that weave together personal and collective memory.
The event features Roberta Bacic (Conflict Textiles, curator / Visiting Professor Ulster University), who will present her new book, Arpilleras Poéticas, alongside Pamela Luque, an arpillera artist from Chile, and reflections from Dr Rachel Robinson and Dr Kate Quinn (University of Galway). A bilingual poetry reading on the disappeared in Chile will accompany the discussion, inviting the audience to reflect on the intersections of art, justice, and remembrance.
Invite to the public event can be found here
Video of arpillerista Gala Torres dancing Cueca Sola in March 1990, Estadio Nacional. |
| Commissioned by: | Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway |
| Date(s): | 23rd January 2026 - 23rd January 2026 |
| Venue: | O’Donoughe Theatre
Cappa Villa, University Rd University Rd, Galway |
| Curator: | Roberta Bacic |
| Facilitator: | Dr Anita Ferrara, Lecturer School of Law |
| Outcome: | The timely event “Threads of Memory: Conflict Textiles, Poetry and Transitional Justice in Chile,” held at the O’Donoghue Theatre, University of Galway, brought together an audience of more than 60 academics, archivists, artists, poets and students to reflect on the role of creative practices in responding to legacies of political violence and human rights abuses. Convened by Dr Anita Ferrara of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, the interdisciplinary programme examined how textiles, poetry and music function as powerful tools of testimony, resistance and memory-making in the aftermath of conflict, with a particular focus on Chile’s struggle for truth and justice following the Pinochet dictatorship. Roberta Bacic, a Chilean activist and researcher from Ulster University, presented her recent book “Arpilleras Poéticas”, illustrating how textile-making has been used to document lived experience and carry collective memory across generations. Poetry translated and read by Lorna Shaughnessy and Roberta Bacic, together with musical contributions by Chilean arpillera artist Pamela Luque, gave the event powerful emotional depth.
Presentations throughout the evening emphasised the continued relevance of artistic practices within transitional justice processes. Contributions from Dr Kate Quinn and Dr Rachel Robinson (School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University of Galway) examined the role of crime fiction and experimental poetry in shaping narratives of memory, trauma and accountability. The high level of attendance and engagement reflected a clear interest in the intersections between creative arts, memory and justice, and highlighted the value of such approaches in contemporary human rights scholarship. The event showed how personal, collective and intergenerational memories are expressed through cultural practices, and why artistic work continues to matter in transitional justice. |
| Documents: |
• Threads of Memory Poster - view
• Threads of Memory Presentation 23/01/26 - view
• Threads of Memory Photo Gallery - view
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