The Center for Global Studies at George Mason University dedicated an April day to the humbling and sobering study of artistic representations of atrocities worldwide.
The center hosted it’s ninth annual conference, titled, “Arts after Atrocity: Global Human Rights and Local Representations of Violence and Resistance,” on April 17 at Mason. According to the conference organizers, victims of violence and visual artists seek to create and display artistic interpretations of horrific events throughout history. This conference examined this type of art throughout history and in the present.
“This type of art is present in many different societies that have experienced or are experiencing conflict,” said Jo-Marie Burt, co-director of the Center for Global Studies and director of the Latin American Studies program at Mason. “The arts in their many forms prove to be a powerful method, rather than simple words or text, of conveying the angst of the violence and the suffering of family members.”
The conference featured several marquee speakers and artists, including:
- Andy Shallal, owner of the restaurant/bookstore/art space chain Busboys and Poets,
- Sonya Renee, poet
- Mauricio Delgado, Peruvian visual artist
- Karen Bernedo, Peruvian visual artist
- Luka Rukavina, independent filmmaker
- Iva Vukusic, war crimes researcher and analyst
- Vjeran Pavlakovic, assistant professor, cultural studies, University of Rijeka (Croatia)
- Marcial Godoy-Anativia, associate director, Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, New York University
Several Mason scholars discussed their work as it intersected with the conference theme. These experts included Jo-Marie Burt, co-director of the Center for Global Studies and director of the Latin American Studies program, Bassam Haddad, director of the Middle East Studies program, and Arnaud Kurze, PhD candidate in the Department of Public and International Affairs.
Conference attendees were treated to a film screening of “Al Más Allá” (Beyond the Beyond), a film by Lourdes Portillo exploring the impact of drug trafficking on poor Mexican communities. Three panel discussions followed, with Shallal’s keynote speech on community art and social change capping the day’s events.
“Art is deployed by artists and victims themselves as an alternative way of speaking,” Burt said. “It helps people connect deeply to an experience that they may not have gone through themselves.”
The globally centered theme of the center’s annual conference varies each year to weave in with current events around the world.
Latin American Studies, the Human Rights & Global Justice Working Group at Mason and University Life all co-sponsored the event. The complete conference schedule is available on the Center for Global Studies website.