News

Discussion Series Art in Conflict – Gessnerallee Zurich
Wednesday, 19. February, 17.30h
Stall 6, Gessneralle 6, Zürich & Zoom
Voices of Culture in Times of Upheaval
with Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing (documentary filmmaker)
Enas Ismail (artist, researcher)
Liwaa Yazji (writer, filmmaker)
What can art achieve in regions affected by war? How do artists create opportunities for encounters and foster peaceful conflict resolution? Through its practice, artasfoundation is repeatedly confronted with these fundamental questions.
For the first half of 2025, we have again put together a programme with inspiring guests, dedicated to exploring these questions by an exchange between practitioners and scholars. The series, presented as moderated table discussions by the artasfoundation team, explores specific topics grounded in practical experiences and theoretical insights.
In February, three female artists from conflict regions (Myanmar, Sudan, Syria) come together to discuss the transformative potential of art, as well as its limitations. They approach this from their perspectives of locally rooted documentary filmmakers, art educators, writers, and researchers. At the same time, they address their expectations, aspirations and suggestions to a socially engaged international artistic community.
Spontaneous participation on site is always possible. Online participation is possible with prior registration. Free entry.
For the event on 19. February, please register here.
This event is part of a monthly series that is organised by the CAP, a joint initiative of artasfoundation and the ZHdK in cooperation with Theater Gessnerallee. If you wish to be regularly informed about the agenda of the discussion series each month, please, sign up for our Art in Conflict invitation list here.
Supported by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia
Next Dates
12. March, 17.30h
Georgia in Turmoil
with Zaal Andronikashvili, Norbert Rütsche and Sonja Schiffers
Zoom Registration
23. April, 17.30h
Transforming Political Imagination Through Sound
with Stas Shärifullá/HMOT
Zoom Registration
14. May, 17.30h
Social Art Initiatives Out in the Streets
with Vera Ryser and Asida Butba
Zoom Registration
18. June, 17.30h
Theatre as Generator for Political Liberation
with Iman Aoun and Toni Shapiro-Phim
Zoom Registration
Living Room – A Space for Artists, Organisations and Communities
The Living Room is a connecting space for displaced communities from Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian artists and international artists and cultural workers collaborating in varied social and artistic forms.
Besides the activities organised by artasfoundation, the space will also host other projects that simply need a space to work.
The physical space is accessible for artists, organisations and communities involved in social transformation and looking for a space to practice, rehearse, gather, exchange, perform or simply meet.
Submit a request for booking the space


Solidarity with the People in Georgia
In an act of peaceful civil disobedience thousands of Georgian citizens are marching in Tbilisi and in other cities to demand a fair repetition of their parliamentary elections and the continuation of their country’s European path. They have been upholding these protests for more than 20 days, facing threats and violence from state authorities through security forces.
Petitions:
Civil society in Georgia needs our support – Open Letter to European Commission
Art Against Oppression: Solidarity with Georgia
Circular
From the current circular
Intense political, social, and humanitarian upheavals, including authoritarian regimes, wars, conflicts, and economic disparities mark many regions worldwide. These conditions force millions of people, including artists, to migrate and seek refuge in safer regions, dealing with the harsh realities of displacement and transforming into artists in exile. They must redefine their artistic practices within unfamiliar cultural contexts while coping with the difficult experiences they often carry to their new realities.
In 2023, we invited six artists in exile to three-month periods of exchange and cooperation in Zurich. This year, we initiated the Tbilisi Crossroads Art Residency, aiming to bring together 12 local and international artists residing in Georgia, possibly from conflicting regions, living in their parallel worlds alongside the local cultural scene, with minimal interaction between them.
Art in exile is a field that demands attention and care, both academically and in practice. It raises many questions: What relations do artists maintain with their countries of origin, and what role do displaced artists play in their new context? Do they speak the same language? Will the new environment allow them to continue their artistic practice, or will the change lead to an inner crisis and block their artistic expression? Does their art correspond to the aesthetics audiences in the new context are trained to receive? Do they have access to funding possibilities, or are they excluded from the cultural and art systems? These are questions that we at artasfoundation continue to explore thematically through various projects.
Archive of circulars
Circular May 2024
Circular November 2023
Circular May 2023
Circular November 2022
Circular May 2022
Circular November 2021
Circular May 2021
Circular November 2020
Circular April 2020
Circular November 2019
Circular May 2019
Circular October 2018
Circular May 2018
Rundbrief November 2017
Rundbrief Mai 2017
Rundbrief November 2016
Rundbrief Mai 2016
Rundbrief November 2015
Rundbrief Mai 2015
1artasfoundation would like to underline that its use of names and titles particularly in regards to conflict regions should not be understood as implying any form of recognition or non-recognition by the foundation or as having any other political connotation whatsoever.