Transformative Memories In Political Violence: An International Network
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Ulster
Department Name: INCORE
Abstract
In the wake of political violence, how and what do people remember, and how do they assign responsibility? Over the past thirty years, transitional justice (TJ) models have dominated responses to periods of political violence. While such approaches are laudatory, they often conceive of memory and violence in static ways, as if reconstructing events to retrieve truth or facts from the past can set the record straight and promote unified healing. These top-down efforts often fail to heal social wounds as they do not transform systems of oppression, dispossession, and exclusion. Thus highlighting as the 'International Year of Peace and Trust'( IYPT) does, "peace not only is the absence of conflict". We, therefore, need to critically interrogate the use of memory and responsibility for political violence, recognising that without this we undermine sustainable peace at the heart of the IYPT. The IYPT notes the importance of a "dynamic participatory process" to foster understanding and build sustainable peace. Our research inquiry responds to these critiques and the call for participation by actively engaging in generative forms of memory work through our Transformative Memory Network.
Established in 2019 following nearly a decade of informal exchange and research collaboration between partners, the Transformative Memory International Network is a collective of scholars, artists, social movement leaders, community-based organisations and policymakers, engaged with the question of what makes memory transformative. Network members are from Colombia, Uganda, Indonesia, Canada and Northern Ireland. Our lines of inquiry and methodology build on knowledge exchange amongst Network members and partners around key questions: How do we remember responsibility for mass and state-sponsored violence? What do we learn from the strategies of powerful actors to deny responsibility? How does remembering responsibility shape present and future relations and ways of being together in land, community, country, and global politics?
We address these questions by adopting a methodology that situates the work of memory in the web of living beings, relationships and places that co-constitute it as a powerful force field of action. Building on two previous exchanges (Uganda 2019, Colombia, 2020), we will host a MemoLab in Belfast in 2022. The MemoLab will interrogate memory practices and the research questions by fostering exchanges of knowledge that are place-based, reciprocal and embodied and through the use of dialogical methods such as theatre, textile creation, storytelling, mapping (and visiting the divided landscape of Belfast), visual engagement, soundscape and performance.
The six-day MemoLab will be hosted by Ulster University and partners and collaborators: Healing Through Remembering, Conflict Textiles, the Smashing Times Theatre company, and National Museums NI on their new "Troubles and Beyond" exhibit at the Ulster Museum. Healing Through Remembering will identify participants from Northern Ireland, including artists, practitioners, victims, former combatants, civil society members to join the MemoLab with international Network participants. The MemoLab will include a Graduate Conference, and space to work on six articles for a Special Issue. Concurrent to the MemoLab selected pieces from Network members and partners will be shown in the annual Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival (DAHRF) and the Ulster Museum's "Troubles and Beyond" exhibit. Pieces emerging from the MemoLab (e.g. installation, poster art, music, poetry and performance) will be added to the annual DAHRF online exhibit. The MemoLab will coincide with the annual DAHRF (October 2022).
This will inform an a) exhibit that travels to Colombia, Canada, and Uganda after the MemoLab and b) research-creation among Network's members with at least 2 additional journal articles. The full results of the MemoLab will be housed in the current Digital Archive of the Network.
Established in 2019 following nearly a decade of informal exchange and research collaboration between partners, the Transformative Memory International Network is a collective of scholars, artists, social movement leaders, community-based organisations and policymakers, engaged with the question of what makes memory transformative. Network members are from Colombia, Uganda, Indonesia, Canada and Northern Ireland. Our lines of inquiry and methodology build on knowledge exchange amongst Network members and partners around key questions: How do we remember responsibility for mass and state-sponsored violence? What do we learn from the strategies of powerful actors to deny responsibility? How does remembering responsibility shape present and future relations and ways of being together in land, community, country, and global politics?
We address these questions by adopting a methodology that situates the work of memory in the web of living beings, relationships and places that co-constitute it as a powerful force field of action. Building on two previous exchanges (Uganda 2019, Colombia, 2020), we will host a MemoLab in Belfast in 2022. The MemoLab will interrogate memory practices and the research questions by fostering exchanges of knowledge that are place-based, reciprocal and embodied and through the use of dialogical methods such as theatre, textile creation, storytelling, mapping (and visiting the divided landscape of Belfast), visual engagement, soundscape and performance.
The six-day MemoLab will be hosted by Ulster University and partners and collaborators: Healing Through Remembering, Conflict Textiles, the Smashing Times Theatre company, and National Museums NI on their new "Troubles and Beyond" exhibit at the Ulster Museum. Healing Through Remembering will identify participants from Northern Ireland, including artists, practitioners, victims, former combatants, civil society members to join the MemoLab with international Network participants. The MemoLab will include a Graduate Conference, and space to work on six articles for a Special Issue. Concurrent to the MemoLab selected pieces from Network members and partners will be shown in the annual Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival (DAHRF) and the Ulster Museum's "Troubles and Beyond" exhibit. Pieces emerging from the MemoLab (e.g. installation, poster art, music, poetry and performance) will be added to the annual DAHRF online exhibit. The MemoLab will coincide with the annual DAHRF (October 2022).
This will inform an a) exhibit that travels to Colombia, Canada, and Uganda after the MemoLab and b) research-creation among Network's members with at least 2 additional journal articles. The full results of the MemoLab will be housed in the current Digital Archive of the Network.
| Title | A Nation in Halt |
| Description | This is a series of digital posters created by Alit Ambara, Indonesia poster artist who attended the Transformative Memory Network exchange in October 2022. The series depicts his experience of the division he witnessed in Northern Ireland. Alit Ambara, who sees his work as protest art, makes all his work freely available on social media. This is the vehicle he uses to engage the public in political debates. The work is available on Alit Ambara's Instagram and his studio's Twitter, @NobodyCorp. Ambara notes about the work: "Some of our time's most important political debates revolve over how and what to remember regarding mass atrocities, such as war, genocide, slavery, and dispossession. The Transformative Memory Network is a group of scholars, artists, community-based organizations, and policymakers who are interested in the larger subject of what makes memory transformative of a sense of self. relationships with others, violent legacies, and ties to the land. We aim to alter how memory is imagined, documented, and practiced in the context of public policy and scholarship on mass atrocity as a means of dealing with the past. Instead, our work reimagines memory as a generative force capable of challenging the present and reimagining the future. The Network's methodology is knowledge exchanges that aim to de-center Western epistemologies and the expert' in favor of a place-based and embodied methodology of relational and reciprocal learning. The conversations, which take place in the territories of-and in dialogue with-memory keepers, hasten new ways of thinking about the possibility of a different future." |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Ambara has some 3000 followers on Instagram, and the studio (NobodyCorp) some 6000 Twitter followers. This gives some reach to the work. Most importantly however Ambara finds, through the free distribution of the work model, that pieces get regularly reproduced on different sites. "Nation in Halt" has raised awareness around the issues of division in Northern Ireland. |
| URL | https://twitter.com/nobodycorp/status/1585915053269667842?s=20 |
| Title | State of the Art Exhibition |
| Description | In partnership with the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival, the Transformative Memory Network participants, were part of the State of the Art: Transformative Memories in Political Violence Multi-Media Exhibition (14 October to 3 November 2022) with presentations, artist talks and performances from Colombia, Uganda, Northern Ireland, Indonesia and Ireland. The exhibition included work from TMN members: Alit Ambara (poster exhibition), Erika Diettes (photographs of her work Relicarios, a bead work by the Women's Advocacy Network of Uganda, a number of Conflict Textiles, installations of Jeff Korondo's music for peace in Uganda, an installation of Ugandan poet Juliane Okot Bitek, photos from journalist Fernanda Barbosa in Colombia, and an installation of a performance piece by indigenous Canadian artist Peter Morin. The exhibition also included a range of public engagement events. These are reported under the "Engagements" section of outputs. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival, and the State of the Art exhibition, was well attended - although the organisers did not keep specific records of numbers. The exhibition according to the organisers did bring a wider and larger audience than previous years. There were a range of workshops attached to the exhibition attended by the public. This created awareness of a range of issues globally (e.g. abduction during the Ugandan civil war), indigenous colonial issues in Canada, and the legacy of conflict represented in Conflict Textiles. Most importantly, the works, also placed creative output at the centre of how we think about memory in times of conflict. |
| URL | https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/conflicttextiles/search-quilts2/fullevent1/?id=282 |
| Title | The Memory Project |
| Description | The Memory Project was a two-week long exhibition featuring testimonial textiles and tapestries created by the Women's Advocacy Network (WAN) in Uganda. The exhibition featured two textiles, a bead work depicting the hardships of being abducted during the Uganda civil war between the Lord's Resistance Army and the Government of Uganda (1987-2008), and a second piece which is a map of a camp in Sudan where abducted women lived during the conflict. The map was transposed from paper to textile through the Conflict Textiles and TMN. WAN is an association of women working for a better future after a long war in northern Uganda abducted as schoolgirls and forced into so-called marriages with rebel commanders, WAN provides a space for these survivors to exchange stories, provide one another support, and to advocate for justice and reparations. The exhibition ran from 17-31 January 2023 at the Lobby Gallery, Liu Institute for Global Issues, The University of British Colombia in Canada. The Memory Project exhibit is part of an initiative by the Transformative Memory International Network, a collective of artists, social movement leaders and scholars who seek to reconceptualize the role and practice of memory after periods of political violence, co-led by SPPGA Prof. Erin Baines and GRSJ Prof. Pilar Riaño-Alcalá. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The exhibit raised awareness of the impact of the conflict in northern Uganda for visitors including post-graduate students. |
| URL | https://transformativememory.ubc.ca/events/ |
| Title | The Troubles and Beyond Textile and Poster Exhibit |
| Description | The Troubles and Beyond is the Ulster Museum's conflict-related exhibition. It focuses on the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. As part of the Transformative Memory Network exchange, a bespoke exhibition was added on 18 October 2022 to the wider exhibition. The exhibit included the work of the TMN member Alit Ambara (poster artist) and also related Conflict Textiles. It opened on Tuesday, 18th October. and ran until the 6th of November and was curated by Roberta Bacic and Karen Logan. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The Troubles and Beyond is the Ulster Museum's conflict-related exhibition and it open to the wider public. Conflict Textiles has a permanent display area in the exhibition space to internationalise conflict issues beyond Northern Ireland. Although it is not possible to say if and how the exhibit changed the views of the public attending the exhibit, it no doubt raised awareness and profile of global conflict issues in the most well-attended public museum in Northern Ireland. |
| URL | https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/conflicttextiles/search-quilts2/fullevent1/?id=287 |
| Title | Transformative Memory: Conflict Textiles |
| Description | A Conflict Textiles exhibit was added to the international panel discussion "Art as Transformative Memory", 7-9pm, 20th October held at The Great Hall, Magee Campus, Ulster University, Derry/Londonderry. |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The event included a range of local artists and activists from the City. This created awareness of a range of issues globally (e.g. abduction during the Ugandan civl war), indigenous issues in Canada, and the legacy of conflict represented in Conflict Textiles. Most importantly the works, also placed creative output at the centre of how we think about memory in times of conflict. |
| URL | https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/conflicttextiles/search-quilts2/fullevent1/?id=287 |
| Description | The project's main objectives are to develop, deepen, expand, and sustain the Transformative Memory Network (TMN). TMN was established in 2019 and is a collective of scholars, artists, social movement leaders, community-based organisations and policymakers. The group engages with the question of what makes memory transformative of legacies of violence, our sense of self, and responsibilities to others. The immediate objective was to run a MemoLab at Ulster University using ongoing intensive knowledge exchange and research-creation with the Network's participants from Colombia, Canada, Indonesia, Northern Ireland and Uganda. The MemoLab was carried out between 14 and 22 October 2022, and included 22 core participants from various countries with activities in Dublin, Belfast and Derry/Londonderry. By visiting these different venues and engaging in various activities, including sharing knowledge, a Graduate Seminar, study visits (e.g., museums, walking tours of division in Northern Ireland, visiting organisations working on resolving conflict), public seminars and engagements, and hosting several exhibitions, the TMN was solidified. The main outcome is that the TMN was strengthened, knowledge deepened, and is significantly more sustainable moving forward. The core question of whether memory can be transformative in conflict settings was interrogated in depth between the participants and through the exchanges and visits. The unique aspect of this Network is that the participants come from different backgrounds. In short, academics who study conflict and memory and artists who, through their work, interpret and create works on such matters. There were numerous outcomes from the exchange and subsequent work, but three achievements are notable: Firstly, this grant was primarily a Network grant aimed at building and cementing the Network. The time together, and the exchanges, no doubt did this. This is evidenced in multiple ways. A new book contract has been signed, a graduate network on transformative memory has been established to complement TMN, several traveling exhibits were carried out (in Canada and Uganda) following the exchange in October 2022, and a large-scale SSHRC proposal was submitted via partners in Canada, including Network partners. New partners from the visit were also formally added to the TMN, including the Northern Ireland organisation Healing Through Remembering, Smashing Times who host the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival, and the community-based Conflict Textiles that houses the world's largest collection of arpilleras (Chilean protest textiles that originated during the Pinochet dictatorship). The PI also collaborated with the curator of Conflict Textiles to produce a book chapter on the works. Secondly, a range of outputs were produced in line with the project proposal that were used to engage with the wider public on memory's role in conflict transformation. The exchange included a range of exhibitions featuring TMN members notably, a significant contribution of a range of works from TMN partners to the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival (called "State of the Art: Transformative Memories in Political Violence Multi-Media Exhibition"), an exhibit of Conflict Textiles at the "Troubles and Beyond" gallery at Ulster Museum, and also an exhibition at Ulster University on the Derry/Londonderry Campus during the exchange. Importantly, the Dublin Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival (https://smashingtimes.ie/event/transformative-memory-international-network/), which included several exhibits from project partners, also included a public engagement component. The wider public joined the academics and artists (many TMN members) for several sessions discussing the significance of their work and what memory meant to the wider public. This also happened at the public event in Derry/Londonderry. What emerged from this was the challenging role of memory as both a tool to cement conflict and the potential to challenge dominant narratives and produce alternative ways of seeing conflict, particularly from a grassroots perspective. For example, at one of the public events in Dublin, artefacts brought from Uganda (by one of the TMN participants) were displayed and discussed with the audience (e.g. a ball made of string made by a forcibly displaced child during the civil war in Uganda). Such a process creates empathy and insight but also opened discussions on the comparative nature of "disappearance" in Colombia, Uganda and Northern Ireland. For a photographic archive of the "State of the Art" exhibition as part of the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival, visit: https://declanb.smugmug.com/Smashing-Times/Dublin-Arts-and-Human-Rights-Festival-2022/n-SFq3G5 Thirdly, the exchange developed the research methods and insights for all participants. It is difficult to document all these learnings as there were 22 core participants and there were multiple exchanges between participants and local communities and the public, as well as participants and other Network members, and between graduate students from Northern Ireland, Ireland, Indonesia, Canada, Liberia and Uganda. The insights, academic learning and approaches varied across participants (this is outlined in the podcasts generated from the exchange). But all the exchanges were inter-disciplinary (e.g. art, architectural, law and political science students at the Graduate seminar). This continually generated a high level of comparative discussion, e.g., how understanding the value of process (embodied) in art and the up and down nature of dialogue in conflict resolution related to one another. This created new insights and increased the window of reflection for those involved in the project. This will be evident in the forthcoming edited book and publications. The edited collection, entitled "How do we Be Together?" (to be published online by RavenSpace UBC) is built on the exchange insights and offers a multi-modal approach to conceptualizing memory as situated in the complex, lived experiences of persons silenced in official narratives and the academy. Drawing in the inter-disciplinary insights it asks are their alternative ways of living together after conflict and different was of imagining the future. The exchange visit provided new insights to all participants in this regard, and will be forthcoming in the publication. |
| Exploitation Route | The project had five objectives, each is elaborated on below in terms of how the outcomes will be taken forward: Objective 1: Create a public exhibit to be displayed in Belfast, Dublin and Online, composed of collaborative artistic works addressing questions of memory frictions and responsibility in societies impacted by political violence and complex transitional processes. As noted, several exhibitions were held in Dublin, Belfast and Derry/Londonderry as part of the exchange. A strong partnership has now developed with Smashing Times, and discussions are already underway concerning potential collaborations in the 2023 Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival. Although a work in progress, the works from the Ireland exchange will be added to the Transformative Memory Archive in due course: https://omeka.irshdc.ubc.ca/s/Transformative-Memory/page/welcome. This will be taken forward by project partners and graduate researchers linked with the exchange. Objective 2: Create a travelling exhibit based on the Belfast public exhibit in partner countries. Instead of having one travelling exhibit, the need for tailored specific partnership-driven exhibitions emerged from the exchange. Three traveling exhibits followed that will continue to be developed and taken forward. Firstly, one of the pieces displayed at the Dublin Festival was a hand-drawn paper map (several A3 sheets) of a rebel base in Sudan during the war in Northern Uganda (1987 - 2006). The map was drawn by the women (through a group called the Women's Advocacy Network or WAN) who were abducted as young girls by the Lord's Resistance Army. The map is a testament to their collective experiences of being forced into marriage, hunger, disease and exhaustion. Conflict Textiles converted the paper map into a textile through the partnership grant. This has now been used in an exhibition at the University of British Colombia (displayed in The Lobby Gallery, 17-31 January 2023, https://transformativememory.ubc.ca/events/), along with a beaded tapestry created to remember what the women went through after their abduction and the long journey to Sudan (also displayed in Dublin the travelling to Canada). One of the map textiles also travelled back to Uganda and currently, WAN continues to use the work to share and discuss war experiences. Another copy of the textile map will also be displayed in 2023 by Conflict Textiles in Northern Ireland and possibly the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival in 2023. The artefacts from Uganda of families of the disappeared that were brought to Ireland for the project exhibit have now also travelled to Colombia. While in Northern Ireland the project arranged for them to be professionally photographed (see https://twitter.com/erikadiettes/status/1584251634997043201?s=20). In Colombia, they will form part of a new exhibition called Oratorio, currently being developed by Erika Diettes who is part of TMN and attended the exchange. Alit Amabara also developed a poster series from the exchange called Nation in Halt. This has been displayed on his Instagram (@alitambara) and he will continue to take this forward to engage the public fitting with his methodology of engagement with his posters (i.e. all his posters are free to download as a form of public engagement and protest). Objective 3: Contribute to a Special Issue on the theme of Memory Frictions and Responsibility, with contributions of at least six co-authored articles with PhD researchers, developed in the MemoLab; at least two additional journal articles will also follow the initial 1-year project. This will continue to be taken forward by the Network members and the Graduate seminar participants, and PI (Hamber) and CIs (Erin Baines, Pilar Riaño-Alcalá). However, in consultation with the Network, it was felt a book would be more appropriate than a Special Issue as a book allowed for photos and a more creative approach to the works displayed and being researched. An online book with digital photos of the works was preferred by members. A multi-media book proposal entitled "How do we be together? Transformative Memory in the wakes of political violence" has been submitted to RavenSpace, UBC Press and will be edited by Erin Baines, Pilar Riaño-Alcalá and Brandon Hamber. A journal article is in progress by Erin Baines and Pilar Riaño-Alcalá (for Memory Studies: Special Issue on Decolonizing Memory Studies), and a book chapter completed by Hamber in partnership with Roberta Bacic from Conflict Textiles (reported below) has been completed. The PI and CIs are currently discussing the final journal piece. Objective 4: Expand the Transformative Memory Digital Archive with the records (artistic creations and research outputs in the form of a podcast) of the MemoLab. This is still being completed and will be taken forward by respective project partners after the grant. The photos from the various events and videos will be made available on the Archive (see https://omeka.irshdc.ubc.ca/s/Transformative-Memory ). A large database of photos of the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival has been created and this is being finalised for uploaded shortly (https://declanb.smugmug.com/Smashing-Times/Dublin-Arts-and-Human-Rights-Festival-2022/n-SFq3G5). Two podcasts focusing on learnings from the exchange, created by Fernanda Barbosa, photographer and journalist who participated in the exchange, will be available shortly. Objective 5: Develop PhD researchers integrating their lived experiences, academic research and theoretical perspectives to enhance outputs, their research and the sustainability of the Network. This will be taken forward by the PhD researchers who attended the Graduate seminar in Belfast as part of the exchange. The PhD researchers from Northern Ireland, Ireland, Uganda, Liberia, Canada, and Indonesia have formed their own Steering Committees and are looking at developing future exchanges. Some of the PhD researchers will also contribute to the edited volume.To this end, all the objectives will be taken forward and used to sustain the TMN, deepen partnerships and continue scholarship and practice in this area. Furthermore, many of the outcomes of the objectives will also engage the wider public, i.e. through the ongoing archive, social media, podcasts and various travelling exhibitions. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/conflicttextiles/search-quilts2/fullevent1/?id=282 |
| Description | As this was a one-year project, one cannot, at least at this stage, overly state the long-term impacts of the project at this stage. That said, within its scope, the breadth and reach of the project has created, as well as opened the door, for a range of impacts. These include academic, creative, and cultural impacts, the value for early career researchers, and the impact on the wider public. In terms of academic impact the project brought together 22 core participants from Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, Indonesia, Colombia and Uganda including: 1. A range of academics and graduate students working on peace and conflict studies, archival studies, anthropology, public policy, law and transitional justice (TJ), Indigenous and Black Studies, memory studies, creative arts, and performative practice; 2. Artists, including conceptual artists, poets, graphic and fine artists, musicians, poster artists, performance artists; 3. Local communities and practitioners creating and curating artworks such as the Women's Advocacy Network in Uganda and their bead project, the Conflict Textiles collection in Northern Ireland, the artists and curators attached to the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival (DAHRF). The core group were supplemented by others throughout the exchange, e.g. additional local artists and musicians in Dublin, additional graduate students from Ulster University at the Graduate Exchange in Belfast, and the wider public in a range of engagements. The bringing together of these constituencies in and of itself has generated impact, particularly in terms of cross-fertilisation and learning. Specifically, in the discussions, much of the engagement dealt with the growing scholarship on the critique of formal peace and transitional justice processes that fail to deal with underlying structural and legacy issues (such as colonialism, poverty, racism, gender inequality and exclusion). Much discussion and exchange focused on the role of memory and art practices and their role in addressing such issues. The study visits and walking tours of Belfast and Derry (its murals, "peace walls", and demarcated areas) also fuelled discussions about what is needed to decrease segregation. This reinforced the idea that the "symbolic" and "memory" has a role in maintaining division beyond material causes of conflict, and likewise has a role in transforming violence. To this end, through a range of artistic outputs such as the Dublin Arts and Human Rights exhibition, the project has stimulated a growing interest in the role of art in conflict transformation. It has also generated new ideas for network members and led to outputs. This has been coupled with deepening academic debate that will be evident in the forthcoming monograph (RavenSpace UBC Press), journal articles (one in draft form), and the recently published book chapter by the PI and Conflict Textiles curator. Specifically, a central focus of the project and Network are those working in civil society in societies in conflict. Such actors and organisations often serve as a buffer against political violence, vehicles for rehabilitating victims, conduits for policy change, advocates against impunity and human rights violations, and raising awareness and the custodians of local memories. Although the project cannot claim to have done all this, it did bolster the work of local art and other practitioners, putting them at the centre of debates about memory and transitional justice. For example, Conflict Textiles, although having done many exhibits before in Northern Ireland, had its work displayed in the heart of Dublin, leading to new connections and expanding its footprint. The PI also worked with the Conflict Textiles curator to produce a book chapter on the collection and its significance, as noted. Alit Ambara, the Indonesian artist, whose posters are politically influential globally and reproduced, added a new collection to his work from his time in Northern Ireland, a series called "Nation in Halt" - generating awareness and discussion around how to address memory in the public realm. Likewise, Erika Diettes, the conceptual artist, presented her work alongside Dorcus Atyeno from Uganda working with the Women's Advocacy Network. The artefacts she brought from Uganda will now be in Diettes next large-scale piece (Oratorio, a sort of shrine to remembering) in Colombia. In other words, the project increased the connections and footprint of work on conflict and art for those involved and globally. The formal membership of Conflict Textiles, Smashing Times and Healing Through Remembering of the Transformative Memory Network (TMN) as organisations working in the space is evidence of the importance such organisations put on the TMN network and TMN put on them as key civil society actors. Most importantly, the project has had an impact in terms of creative output with the multiple exhibitions, including the travelling exhibits reported in other sections. Early career researchers are also a vital beneficiary of the project and the Network. The project sought to develop a new generation of scholars who can traverse academic boundaries and utilise multiple methods for theoretical inquiry, output, and impact. Graduate students are at the heart of network activities for this reason. To this end, of the 22 core participants from the 5 countries, at least one PhD researcher was present for each country represented and participated in all events (along with others who joined from Belfast and Derry as the events unfolded). The PhD researchers also organised their own Graduate Seminar in Belfast, inviting a further 10-15 local PhDs (although the majority are international) for a day of reflections and sharing. The graduates chose a more intimate seminar format so they could spend the time critically reflecting on their work with fellow graduates from around the world, and the academics part of the TMN. Every PhD student shared their project and entertained questions and comments from other global graduates and academics. The graduates shared with the PI and CIs how the global interconnectedness, and having their own space in the exchange, benefited their work and networking that has created sustainable international connections. As was noted by one of the graduates: "the discovery or realisation of the diverse professional network of 'memory entrepreneurs' or memory-makers (academics, fine artists, musicians, peace and conflict practitioners, conflict textiles, etc.) that could be leveraged (rather than work in silos), is a significant action of transformative memory in itself". The graduate student conference was a powerful space for comparative learning. The discussions revealed that though memory concepts and theories are similar, but the interpretation and application vary across contexts. The graduate students' decision to establish their own network is further evidence of the need for continued comparative learning on transformative memory. Some of the PhD researchers will be publishing their work in the monograph with RavenSpace UBC Press. A final word on the challenges of impact on wider society. Of course, measuring impact, primarily through the public display and engagement with conflict-related art is difficult. By having such work in public spaces (such as the Ulster Museum known more for natural rather than political history) opens the possibility for engagement. Without substantial resources, and long-term follow, it is difficult to know how such works change attitudes and behaviour of those attending the exhibitions. But the range of public events (workshops at the DAHRF, public exhibitions at the Ulster Museum, the travelling exhibitions) were well attended by the general public, and from participation alone, the public connected with the works exhibited and the memory themes discussed in the workshops. At the very least, the works raised awareness about global conflict challenges and transformation, at best they changed attitudes and deepened understandings. But unquestionably, they brought challenging conflict-related debates in public spaces where they were barely present before. All this creative output remains linked to the TMN, and the grant strengthened the Network substantially, the project's impact will no doubt be incremental as the academic work develops and further exhibitions take place. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |
| Description | Art as Transformative Memory |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This event involved members of the Transformative Memory Network (TMN) as an international panel of artists, activists and scholars offering reflections on the role of art and creative expression as modes to activate memory in ways that disrupt the status quo and as alternative to conventional legal ways of representing violence and trauma, such as truth commissions, monuments or in trials. The panelists also offered reflections on these questions based on their work in Canada, Colombia and Uganda, the exchange visit, and MemoLab in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The event allowed for the public to interact with the TMN. It increased awareness of the challenges of memory in a post-conflict society and allowed the public to think more comparatively about their local challenges. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.ulster.ac.uk/faculties/arts-humanities-and-social-sciences/events/art-as-transformative-... |
| Description | Memo Lab: Creative Dialogues - Artist Talks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A "Memo Lab" entitled "Performing Memories" was held on 15 October 2022, 2-5pm. This took place at The Chocolate Factory, Dublin where the State of the Art exhibition was held. Roberta Bacic, the curator of Conflict Textiles, Northern Ireland and Chile, talked about the creation of Conflict Textiles and her work as curator, looking at textile artworks reflecting themes of disappearance, war and peace. Professor Brandon Hamber, as a Trustee of Conflict Textiles, also shared his experience of working with Conflict Textiles. Activist Docus Atyeno presented on the Beads Project and the Women's Advocacy Network (WAN), an association of women working for a better future after a long war in northern Uganda. The women were abducted as schoolgirls by the Lord's Resistance Army, (LRA) and forced into so-called marriages with rebel commanders with whom they bore children. On return, the women organized to support each other, share their stories, and encourage each other, telling their stories as survivors of conflict-related sexual violence so that others with know exactly what happened. Alit Ambara is a visual and graphic artist and cultural activist from Indonesia. Alit talked about his work as a visual artist specialising in poster art and his work as the founder of Nobodycorp Internationale Unlimited, an initiative to encourage serious discourse about social or socio-political issues through its posters. The talks were intercut with music by Jeff Korondo, a solo musician, singer and songwriter from Uganda. The talks raised awareness of the importance of creative work in dealing with difficult memories with the public and artists. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://smashingtimes.ie/event/creative-dialogues/ |
| Description | Memo Lab: Performing Memories - Workshop and Artist Talks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A "Memo Lab" entitled "Performing Memories" was held on 15 October 2022, 10am-1pm. This took place at The Chocolate Factory, Dublin where the State of the Art exhibition was held. Performing Memories was a practical theatre based workshop followed by an artist talk with artists Amna Walayat, visual artist and curator, Pakistan and Ireland; Dr Paulo Vignolo, Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Fernanda Barbosa, journalist, Colombia; and Michael McCabe, actor, choreographer and facilitator. The artists came together to share their artistic arts practice and the role of the arts in 'performing memories', looking at performing and visual arts practice arising out of war, conflict, equality and human rights. It was open to the public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://smashingtimes.ie/event/performing-memories/ |
| Description | Memo Lab: Remembrance - Live Performance and Post-Show Artist Talks |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A "Memo Lab" entitled "Remembrance" was held on 15 October 2022, 7-10pm. This took place at The Chocolate Factory, Dublin where the State of the Art exhibition was held. Remembrance was a MemoLab live performance featuring a live musical performance from Ugandan musician Jeff Korondo, singing from Hilary Bow, singer, songwriter, a performance of At Summer's End by Féiim James performed by Carla Ryan and poetry from The Feeling Soul by Mary Moynihan performed by Carla Ryan, Rob Harrington and Niamh Sweeney. The evening featured Artist Talks by Mary Moynihan, Ireland, writer, theatre and film-maker and Erika Diettes, Bogota, Colombia, a visual artist and social communicator. Both artists had work on display in the State of the Art: Transformative Memories in Political Violence Multi-Media Exhibition. This raised awareness about the role of art in dealing with conflicted memories for attendees, who were mainly from the public and practitioners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://smashingtimes.ie/event/remembrance/ |
| Description | Memo Lab: The Gathering - Transforming Memories Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A "Memo Lab" entitled "The Gathering" was held on 16 October 2022, 11am-2pm. This took place at The Chocolate Factory, Dublin where the State of the Art exhibition was held. The Gathering: Transforming Memory event involved a workshop, panel discussion and networking session held as part of the Transformative Memory Network, Smashing Times Arts and Human Rights Network and the Smashing Times artist development programme State of the Art. This was a hands-on workshop with the wider public including panel discussions addressing transformative memory via the arts and explored the idea of creating new work. This workshop mainly featured new partners, and some of the public, and reflected on lessons from the exhibit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://smashingtimes.ie/event/the-gathering/ |
| Description | State of the Art: Transformative Memories in Political Violence Multi-Media Exhibition Launch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The launch of the State of the Art exhibition took place in Dublin on 14 October 2022, 6-8pm. 14 October 6-8pm. The launch included an introduction to the artworks, comments from the Co-Curators were Mary Moynihan and Amna Walayat, Professor Hamber who organised the links to the Transformative Memory Network, as well as performances from Jeff Korondo, solo musician, Uganda who is a member of the Network, along with other performers. The Representative of the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy also spoke to an audience of artists and the public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://smashingtimes.ie/event/opening-ceremony/ |