Colombians use art to build peace in conflict-hit city

La Fiesta. Credit: Laura Diosa Vera and Sofia Garcia 'Ponchis'

A team dedicated to using art to tackle violence and conflict in the Colombian city of Medellín will be presenting their findings at Aberystwyth University on Thursday 19 October.

Street murals, a theatre play, and a salsa song have been performed in a conflict-hit Colombian city as part of a study of community art’s role in peacebuilding.

Funded by an Aberystwyth University led research network, the Art that Protects project looked at the impact of twenty cultural organisations’ work with communities affected by urban conflict in the city of Medellín, Colombia.

The project’s findings were shown to the public through several art forms, including four murals by artist Carlos Tobón and a theatre play, La Fiesta, created by Óscar Manuel Zuluaga.

The salsa song Arte que Protege, composed and performed by Gio Monteadentro, tells the story of the project and its outcomes, accompanied by a music video which shows the work of many of the grassroots community groups involved in the study.

Now the project team from Colombia is travelling over 5,000 miles to present its findings in Aberystwyth.

The event in Aberystwyth Arts Centre takes place from 10:30-12:00 on Thursday 19 October, and will be an opportunity to hear a presentation of the project findings, see short video clips from La Fiesta with elements of live theatre, and join a discussion exploring the power of the arts to provide safer space in violent contexts.

Tickets for the event are free of charge and can be booked at: www.eventbrite.com/e/la-fiesta-art-that-protects-tickets-734592334447

Berit Bliesemann de Guevara, Professor in International Politics at Aberystwyth University and Principal Investigator of the Creating Safer Space network, said:

“In urban environments such as Medellín, citizens have endured five decades of armed conflict and violence has become a feature of everyday life. 

“Community art and performance have been found to be effective vehicles for strengthening social ties, erasing the invisible boundaries that divide neighbourhoods, empowering marginalised groups, and ultimately contributing to longer-term peacebuilding.”

“The Art that Protectsproject has demonstrated that hands-on community art has both a transformative and a therapeutic function. It becomes a vehicle through which civilians can express themselves and demonstrate their resistance to the conflict which dominates their community.”

Art that Protects has been led by Professor Beatriz Arias López of the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Antioquia, and artistic collectives Arlequín y Los Juglares (Harlequin and the Jugglers) and Robledo Venga Parchemos.

It is one of 25 research projects supported by the ‘Creating Safer Space’ network, led by Aberystwyth University and financed by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through the Global Challenges Research Fund.

The Creating Safer Space network works with researchers, communities and organisations in conflict-affected regions to explore how violence against civilians can be deterred or prevented by civilians without the use or threat of force. 

It aims to enhance and strengthen civilians’ ability to protect themselves and support local efforts to create safer spaces in which communities to build lasting, sustainable peace.

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