We make Art.
Resignification of collective imaginaries through the use of Art as a tool for Human Rights and Peace protection in times of crisis
Today is the penultimate day of the second part of the We Make Art project, which started on 2 July and ends tomorrow, 9 July. Once again, participants from Germany, Spain, Greece and France gathered, this time in Evian-les-Bains, to put into practice the theoretical knowledge about conflict resolution learned from the 14th to the 21st of April in El Escorial, Madrid.
During the first part in Madrid we decided that our group contribution to the project “We make art” would be a booklet that would gather all this knowledge through art as a form of activism. So, during this week we got down to work, improving in the process the group’s decision-making capacity, giving space and voice to all participants, actively listening, and therefore, valuing all opinions equally in order to reach a common ground.
The main goals of this week have been to finalise the content of the booklet, design the layout and the front and back cover as well as compile the additional resources. We would also like to highlight the collaborative participation, supporting each other in the creation of the different works and relying on collective art.
Each participant has contributed works on the following themes: police brutality, youth participation in democracy, LGBT rights, violence against women, promotion of art (such as music and cinemq), migration conflicts, urbanism, environment, sex education, overconsumption or bribery. In addition, the booklet also includes art pieces related to ways of dealing with these conflicts such as peacebuilding, non-violent communication or conflict transformation have been included.
Although this booklet is still awaiting the final touches, it is expected to be published at the end of September of this year in order to disseminate it in different social spaces in both physical and digital format.
In parallel, we have also organised the individual actions, one for each participant, which we will carry out from August to December of this year. Many of them are related to the themes included in the booklet, mentioned above.
Beyond the training aspects, during this week we have also built a strong coexistence based on the exchange of mutual experiences that have led to a full trust between the participants. Trust without which neither the booklet nor the local actions would have been possible.
Although this was our last face-to-face meeting, the project is not over yet. We hope that both the booklet and our actions will continue to generate curiosity in you, inspiring you to bring the culture of peace in your communities and generate your own local impacts.
Laura Pérez and Raquel Marquina
Participants of We Make Art
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We make Art — is a project financed by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme.
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