In a two-month residency, a group of international artists and researchers have investigated the role of art in collective healing from war-related trauma. Diala Brisly, Cindy Horst, Daria Pugachova and Khalid Shatta have collectively created a space to explore the results of this residency in a ‘Festival Week’ where the group aim to exchange with and learn from audiences in the final week of the residency. Read more about the residency here.
Find all public events below:
Creative Resistance to War and Oppression: A debate and art exhibition
- Thursday, 5 October, 16:00-19:00
- The Grey Space, Paviljoensgracht 20-24, Den Haag, Netherlands
The festival opens with a 'fishbowl' debate, moderated by Sever Dzigurski and including panellists Halleh Ghorashi, Kirsten van den Hul, Bård Ivar Svendsen, Diala Brisly, Cindy Horst, Daria Pugachova and Khalid Shatta. They will discuss the many roles art plays in times of war, oppression, and exile. After the debate, there is an opportunity to see an art exhibition created by the residents. Register here.
Book Launch
- Friday, 6 October, 16:00-18:00
- Goethe Institut, Westersingel 9, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Diala Brisly and Cindy Horst will have a conversation about their new books, Im klassenzimmer der diktatur (In the Classroom of the Dictator), and Creative Resistance. The social justice practices of Monirah, Halleh and Diala. Studio 1, where the residency took place, hosts an exhibition that can be visited during the festival week. More information here.
Art Workshops and Exhibition
- Saturday, 7 October, 14:00-18:00
- Zuid. Boijmans Van Beuningen, Hillevliet 90, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Welcome to an afternoon of creating and exploring the topic of collective healing together with Diala Brisly, Cindy Horst, Daria Pugachova and Khalid Shatta. You can paint, explore gratitude, help weave nets and play with poetic expressions on freedom, art, war and exile. The artworks that have been created during the residency will also be exhibited and can be visited during the festival week.
"Ukrainian Classroom"
- Wednesday, 11 October, 16:00-18:00
- Zuid. Boijmans Van Beuningen, Hillevliet 90, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Daria Pugachova will hold an experimental performance Shelter for Freedom. We invite you to a special school, where every lesson is a mini-performance in which you are participants, students, and spectators. At the end of the performance, we will create an art installation — protection for the Ukrainian sky, a symbol of our unity. Our guest musicians will help you reveal your freedom: guitar - Andrew Moreno, bass - Jonathan Ho - drums - Gregory Eric Smith. Don't be late and come with sunflowers! To register - follow the link https://forms.gle/uMFwstKcQRWf29FSA.
Art in Times of War - Sandra Smets in conversation with the residents
- Thursday, 12 October, 14:00-16:00
- Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, Museumpark 24, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Art historian Sandra Smets draws on her research on artists and art during WWII to take us through a collection of works that she has selected from the collection at Boijmans Van Beuningen. The residents engage with her through questions and reflections from their experiences and/or research on art and war from ongoing conflicts. Participants can take part as regular visitors of the museum (note the need to get tickets online for the correct timeslot), or can get in touch with Cindy Horst (cindy@prio.org) by Wednesday 11th to join the session.
Film Screening: Microcosmos
- Friday, 13 October, 16:00-18:00
- Goethe Institut, Westersingel 9, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Daria presents a screening of her film "Microcosmos" followed by a discussion. “Microcosmos” is a documentary movie about life in the post-Soviet neighborhood of Polovky in Poltava (Ukraine) made at the end of 2021, two months before the outbreak of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The artist roams the neighborhood as an astronaut. She talks with residents about their dreams, life, and memories of their childhood in the yards where they live. More information here. Studio 1, where the residency took place, hosts an exhibition that can be visited during the festival week.
Final Event!
- Saturday, 14 October, 14:00-18:00
- Zuid. Boijmans Van Beuningen, Hillevliet 90, Rotterdam, Netherlands
The Festival Week culminates in a celebration at Boijmans Zuid, featuring music and food. The artworks that have been created during the residency will also be exhibited and can be visited during the festival week. Celebrate the incredible journey of creativity and collaboration that has unfolded throughout the week. If you are a local artist who would like to contribute to the program with a small creative contribution, get in touch with Cindy Horst (cindy@prio.org or WhatsApp +47 405 18690).
The INSPIRE project studies the role of artists and creative practice in and after violent conflict, exploring both what inspires and motivates those engaged in creative practice as well as how artistic expressions inspire and move others into action for social justice. The project introduces inspiration as a new and important field of ethnographic research through studying the intersections between artists, art and activism during and after war. The project focuses on the role of local and transnational creative practices in and after wars in Sudan and Myanmar, and study artists and activists in exile in four European countries. Visit the INSPIRE website here.
