News
Discussion Series Art in Conflict – Gessnerallee Zurich
15. January 2025, 17.15 h CET
Stall 6, Gessneralle 6, Zurich & Zoom
“Conflict Engagement” Through Art
with Dana Caspersen (conflict analyst, dance practitioner, USA)
The current edition of Art in Conflict focuses on navigating power structures and dynamics. Based on a chapter from the forthcoming book Conflict Is an Opportunity (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025) by Dana Caspersen, artist and conflict resolution expert, we delve into one of the book’s central themes: “The question is not whether you will use power, but how.” During this event, we will explore various analytical tools and impactful practical exercises –the essentials of an artistic practice that is socially engaged on an international scale. As the book emphasises: “Power in itself is neither good nor bad, and we cannot remove it from the equation of human interaction.”
Dana Caspersen is an expert in conflict resolution, a performing artist, and an author. She works globally with individuals, groups, and communities. Combining strategies for conflict resolution with choreographic design, she has developed teaching and communication methods as well as public dialogue models, which she implements worldwide. Here you can pre-order her book: Amazon, Rowman & Littlefield (30% discount with code RLFANDF30), Bookshop, Barnes&Noble
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.
Next Dates will be communicated here in January 2025.
Supported by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia
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
Solidarity with the People in Georgia
In an act of peaceful civil disobedience thousands of Georgian citizens are marching in Tbilisi and in other cities to demand a fair repetition of their parliamentary elections and the continuation of their country’s European path. They have been upholding these protests for more than 20 days, facing threats and violence from state authorities through security forces.
Petitions:
Civil society in Georgia needs our support – Open Letter to European Commission
Art Against Oppression: Solidarity with Georgia
Circular
From the current circular
Intense political, social, and humanitarian upheavals, including authoritarian regimes, wars, conflicts, and economic disparities mark many regions worldwide. These conditions force millions of people, including artists, to migrate and seek refuge in safer regions, dealing with the harsh realities of displacement and transforming into artists in exile. They must redefine their artistic practices within unfamiliar cultural contexts while coping with the difficult experiences they often carry to their new realities.
In 2023, we invited six artists in exile to three-month periods of exchange and cooperation in Zurich. This year, we initiated the Tbilisi Crossroads Art Residency, aiming to bring together 12 local and international artists residing in Georgia, possibly from conflicting regions, living in their parallel worlds alongside the local cultural scene, with minimal interaction between them.
Art in exile is a field that demands attention and care, both academically and in practice. It raises many questions: What relations do artists maintain with their countries of origin, and what role do displaced artists play in their new context? Do they speak the same language? Will the new environment allow them to continue their artistic practice, or will the change lead to an inner crisis and block their artistic expression? Does their art correspond to the aesthetics audiences in the new context are trained to receive? Do they have access to funding possibilities, or are they excluded from the cultural and art systems? These are questions that we at artasfoundation continue to explore thematically through various projects.
Archive of circulars
Circular May 2024
Circular November 2023
Circular May 2023
Circular November 2022
Circular May 2022
Circular November 2021
Circular May 2021
Circular November 2020
Circular April 2020
Circular November 2019
Circular May 2019
Circular October 2018
Circular May 2018
Rundbrief November 2017
Rundbrief Mai 2017
Rundbrief November 2016
Rundbrief Mai 2016
Rundbrief November 2015
Rundbrief Mai 2015
1artasfoundation would like to underline that its use of names and titles particularly in regards to conflict regions should not be understood as implying any form of recognition or non-recognition by the foundation or as having any other political connotation whatsoever.