News

Discussion Series Art in Conflict – Gessnerallee Zurich

18. September 2024, 17.15 h CET 
Gessnerallee 8, Stall 6, Zurich & Zoom

Art Shaping Social Transformation 
with Diala Brisly (visual artist, France) and Cindy Horst (Peace Research Institute Oslo PRIO, Norway)

An artist and a social researcher are collaborating in a research project about the work of artists after violent conflicts. In the text Questioning Artists. Contributing Societal Critique and Alternative Visions in Dark TimesCindy Horst examines how creative processes and cultural expressions can play a crucial role in social criticism and the creation of alternative societal visions. As an example, she discusses the engagement of Diala Brisly and another artist.

Art can draw attention to what otherwise remains unspoken or unseen. Moreover, art can contribute to the creation of new social perspectives. A key element in this, as Cindy Horst discusses, is the development of a new, shared definition of a situation in which the old reality no longer appears as absolute, and radical political change seems possible. Thus, art has the potential to open up mental spaces and develop new meanings, creating the possibility for change.

Cindy Horst and Diala Brisly will be joining us live via Zoom on September 18th at Stall 6 in Gessnerallee Zurich. Together with them and based on the mentioned text, we will discuss how artistic engagement can enable resistance in dark times.

Diala Brisly is a Syrian artist currently living in France. Her artistic practice spans a variety of media, including animation, painting, conceptual art, illustration, comics, and murals. Recurring themes in her work include social justice, freedom, and the desire to give a voice to children. 

Cindy Horst is a research professor of migration and refugee studies and co-director of the PRIO Centre on Culture, Conflict and Co-existence in Norway. Her current research focuses on how individuals, including artists and scholars, can challenge the status quo and bring about societal change in (post-)conflict situations.

At Stall 6, the bar at Gessnerallee, we will be happy to open the space for an informal discussion after the talk. The discussion is held in English. The event will take place in Zurich as well as online on Zoom. To sign up for the Zoom link, please, e-mail us by the day before the event. 

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. 


Further Dates: 

Wednesday, 16. October 2024 
Community Building in Fragile Contexts 
with Shoghakat Mlke-Galstyan (Armenia, artasfoundation and Rana Yazaji (Germany, artasfoundation)
Gessnerallee, Gessnerallee 8, Zürich

Wednesday, 13. November 2024
Theatre Initiatives in Times Of War 
with Mira Sack (Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK, Switzerland), Lena Saade Gebran (USEK’s University, Lebanon) and Shebli Albau (theatre maker, Switzerland)
ZHdK, Toni-Areal, Pfingstweidstr. 96, Zürich

Wednesday, 11. December 2024
Economy, War and the Role of Art? 
with Robert Bachmann (Public Eye, Switzerland)
Gessnerallee, Gessnerallee 8, Zürich

Wednesday, 15. January 2025 
“Conflict Engagement” Through Art 
with Dana Caspersen (conflict analyst, dance practitioner, USA)
Gessnerallee, Gessnerallee 8, Zürich

 

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 
 
 

Connecting Two Mountain Regions Through Sharing Stories 

When grandparents tell bedtime stories to their grandchildren, there is a moment of shared presence and attentive listening. Sharing Stories aims to explore storytelling, drawing and printing/publishing as artistic tools for fostering exchange – across generations as well as across borders.

The first edition of the project is organised in cooperation with SKLAD (Abkhazia¹) and DOGO Residency (Toggenburg) 2024 – 2025 and consists of a residency in each of the two regions where the stories of the older generation will be told to the young one. With the help of artists from both regions and through various methods including writing, drawing and animation the children will create a verbal and visual documentation resulting in bilingual zines. The artistic output will be shared with the public in an exhibition in each region offering insights into other life realities.