The Art of Conflict Transformation

Since 2007, the Center has co-hosted events engaging scholars, activist artists and conflict resolvers to explore the geography of conflict; the spaces in and on which conflict has been imprinted and expressed, and the terrains of resistance, resilience, transformation.  For more information about these events click here.

Murals of Conflict and Conflict Transformation

Murals in the north of Ireland/Northern Ireland, which now number over 1700, have played a variety of roles within each community over the last 100 years: particularly during The Troubles (1969-1998) and the period transitioning to peace.  It is in this context that The Center along with other partners hosted the unveiling of “Painting from the Same Palette,” an historic mural jointly painted by two artists whose communities were previously at war in the north of Ireland/Northern Ireland: Danny Devenny, former Irish Republican Army (IRA) prisoner, and Mark Ervine, son of David Ervine, former Progressive Unionist Party leader and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) member.  This unique step came on the heels of the historic powersharing in government that began in May 2007, after nine years of struggle to implement the Good Friday Agreement.  Click here  for more information and photos of the event.

Two more murals were created after online and in-person engagements with these two muralists and community members in Amherst and Springfield, Massachusetts (USA).  Click here to watch “Liberty, Diversity, and Justice” being painted and click here  to listen to a radio interview during the making of Mason Square’s mural, “The Higher You Build the Barriers, The Stronger I Become”

From Resistance to Transformation: Arpilleras from Chile and Around the World

In early 2012, The Center will co-sponsor “From Resistance to Transformation: Arpilleras from Chile and Around the World.”   The events will include a physical and online art exhibition with lectures and workshops focused on women’s acts of resistance to state-sponsored human rights violations in conflict zones throughout the world through their creation of political arpilleras (textiles).

Please contact Leah Wing for further informatin about any of these projects.