Art and Reconciliation: Conflict, Culture and Community
The convergence of art with conflict resolution, transitional justice and reconciliation has received greater attention in recent years as scholars and practitioners have sought to find innovative new ways of contending with legacies of war crimes and atrocity and to transform social relations in societies riven by violent conflict. Billions of pounds have been invested in post-conflict reconciliation projects involving aspects of justice and the creative arts, but we know surprisingly little about the impact of these activities, and whether or not they ‘work’.
Art and Reconciliation: Conflict, Culture and Community is a programme of research that addresses key questions around the relationship between art and reconciliation, between culture and conflict, and between art, conflict, culture and community. Impacting beyond the academic community, this unique collaboration brings together academics, artists, policy-makers, donors, peacebuilding organisations and the cultural sector.
The initial research was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) under its Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (PaCCS) and the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). Follow-on projects have been funded by the AHRC/GCRF and by the British Academy. The inter-disciplinary programme of research combines history, conflict resolution methodologies, art and creative practice, and both qualitative and quantitative social sciences. Art and Reconciliation is led by Professors James Gow and Rachel Kerr and the War Crimes Research Group in the Department of War Studies at King’s, in collaboration with Dr Denisa Kostovicova (London School of Economics and Political Science) and Dr Paul Lowe (University of the Arts London). The team includes Artist-in-Residence, Dr Milena Michalski, Dr Tiffany Fairey, Dr Henry Redwood (King’s), Dr Tom Pashkalis and Dr Ivan Sokolić (LSE). Our partners include UNDP Western Balkans, the Post-Conflict Research Centre, Sarajevo, and the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Hercegovina.
In 2018 the project hosted RECONCILIATIONS a large scale public exhibition and events programme at The Exchange, Bush House, the University of Arts London and Regents University London. You can view our full photo gallery on Flickr, and a full compendium of exhibitions, public and media engagement.
For regular updates on our activities, please see our website and follow us on Twitter @WarCrimesKCL #artreconciliation.