News

Discussion Series Art in Conflict
Gessnerallee Zurich

Wednesday, 26. November, 17.30–19.00 h CET
Stall 6, Gessnerallee 6, Zürich & Zoom
Live broadcast to the media library of the Academy of Art and Design Basel, Freilager-Platz 1, Münchenstein, 8th floor

Peacebuilding Between Stage and Research
with Diana Rojas (director, performer, researcher at HKB) and Chimène Costa (artistic director, dancer, actress, cultural manager), joining on-site

What can art achieve in regions affected by crisis? How do artists engage in fostering human connections and peaceful conflict transformation, and what are the indispensable conditions for this? The Art in Conflict series explores fundamental questions of international peacebuilding through dialogues with practitioners and scholars from diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
In the format of roundtable conversations, with two guests at a time, the series addresses specific topics in this field, drawing on both practical experiences and theoretical reflections. The discussions are moderated by the team of artasfoundation, the Swiss foundation for art in conflict regions, which has been initiating and organising art projects since 2012.

What does it mean to experiment with new, practice-oriented approaches in peacebuilding? Which methods and tools do the performing arts provide for this purpose? We will discuss these questions with Diana Rojas and Chimène Costa. Both work or conduct research at the intersection of art and society – particularly with vulnerable communities, including in Colombia and Mozambique, who have experienced violence. At the core of their practice are personal stories, documentary approaches, and a profound interest in suppressed, forgotten, and marginalised narratives.

Spontaneous participation on site is always possible. Online participation is possible with prior registration. Free entry. The event will be held in English.

For the event on 26. November, 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. Here you can subscribe to the current programme of Art in Conflict and stay up to date.

Next Dates:

Wednesday, 17. December 2025 17.30 h CET
Collective Visions – Photography as Collaboration
with Sadia Marium and Tiffany Fairey

Wednesday, 14. January 2026 17.30 CET
Beyond Formal Structures – Self-Organised Cultural Initiatives
with Vigen Galstyan and Yifei Chen

Workshop: Connecting Communities & Cultures mit Chimène Costa
Art in Conflict – Practice

artasfoundation expands the Art in Conflict series with a practice-oriented format: workshops, readings, and screenings offer space for exchange, deepening, and artistic experimentation in (post-)conflict contexts. From 28.–30. November 2025, Chimène Costa will introduce dance and performance methods based on storytelling, body awareness, and community. In the workshop, we will explore her approaches, which combine dance, traditional songs, and performative exercises to make personal experiences and collective stories visible and tangible. No prior experience is required. Participation is free.

Friday, 28. November, 19.00 h
Introductory Meeting, artasfoundation office

Saturday, 29. November, 10.00 h – 17.00 h
Workshop, Maxim Theater, Zurich

Sunday, 30. November, 10.00 h – 17.00 h
Workshop, Maxim Theater, Zurich

Registration by 24. November 2025: claudia.barth@artasfoundation.ch

Invitation to the artasfoundation Community Event

Join us on the 29. November 2025 at 18.00h at the MAXIM Theater. We'll be sharing updates on the artasfoundation's work, diving into the outcomes of the Art in Conflict – Practice workshop with guest artist Chimène Costa, and of course, providing plenty of time for meaningful exchange with fellow artists, supporters, and community members.

We look forward to seeing both familiar and new faces!

29. November 2025, 18.00 h, MAXIM Theater, Ernastrasse 20, 8004 Zurich

Registration

Circular

Subscribe to the circular

From the current circular

This fall season has been an intensive one for the artasfoundation team, collaborating artists and regional partners. Over recent months, our projects have taken place across different regions, and while only some are included in this circular, you will be able to read about others in our next spring edition. Like many of you, we continue to shield ourselves from despair, in a world shaped by conflicts and inequalities, not by turning away but by consistently engaging and creating safe spaces where people can act with autonomy.

We would like to invite you to carry out a small exercise. Take a piece of paper and a pen. Close your eyes and look back at your own history; recall three moments that shaped who you are today, the person now reading this text. These moments don’t need to be grand or visible to others: just concrete happenings, not ideas or events that mattered to the whole world or to an entire people; perhaps a book, a conversation, a sentence someone said to you, a beginning or an ending. Write them down, just three. Now look at your list. Most likely, these moments are small incidents, perhaps unnoticed when they happened, but with the distance of time you can see how profoundly they shaped you. This is also how we understand our projects. Together with people in mountain or border villages, cities, or post-conflict regions, we create such moments – seemingly modest, yet quietly transformative. These moments matter, for individuals and for communities.

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.

Circular

From the current circular

Archive of circulars