The Creating Safer Space project ‘Ritualising’ protection in conflict: A collaborative visual ethnography of the cultural and spiritual protection practices of the Nasa people in Colombia shares news from their project.

On 26-27 September, the Ritualising Protection Project (RPP) team convened, jointly with the indigenous authorities of the Resguardo Indígena de Huellas Caloto, a two-day workshop to present and discuss the findings of the Project. During the first day, the research team met with the indigenous authorities, elders, and some members of the community. During the second day, the findings were discussed with a member of the local ombudsman office (defensoría del pueblo). These discussions will feed into a draft policy document that will be published on the RPP website in the coming weeks.

The Creating Safer Space project ‘Strategies for Safety and Solidarity: Understanding protection through creativity in South Sudan and Colombia’ invites you to their exhibition at Universidad de los Andes in Colombia.

The exhibition is a collective work between artists and researchers, displaying photographs, embroidery, music, cartoons and artistic installations to create a dynamic conversation between Colombia and South Sudan.

The exhibition concludes on Friday 27 October. More information is available here:

Exposición Art Allies-Alianzarte – Hulafaa Alfun: Diálogos sobre artivismo y cuidado

The team leading the Creating Safer Space research project Art that Protects: Contributions of artistic-cultural initiatives to the self-protection strategies of young people and women in the context of the urban conflict in Medellín, 2022 is visiting Aberystwyth, Wales.

All welcome to the below in-person event.

Thursday, 19 October 2023
Time: 10.30 – 12.00
Venue: Cinema, Aberystwyth Arts Centre

With:

• Adriana Diosa and Oscar Manuel Zuluaga (Harlequin and the Jugglers, Colombia)
• Beatriz Arias López and Laura Jimenez (University of Antioquia, Colombia)
• Berit Bliesemann de Guevara (International Politics, AU)

Financed by the Creating Safer Space network, the research project “Art that Protects” looked at the impact of twenty cultural organisations who work with communities in the city of Medellín, Colombia, in areas which are highly vulnerable and affected by urban violence. The project showed the power of community art in this context. By strengthening social ties, erasing the invisible boundaries that divide neighbourhoods, and empowering marginalised groups, community art creates safer space for communities living amidst violent conflict. As a platform for the inhabitants of the neighbourhood to express themselves, to denounce, to undergo catharsis, and to resist, community-based art becomes the umbrella that protects civilians from violence and creates safer space for life.

This event combines the presentation of the project findings and short video clips from the project-based play “La Fiesta” with elements of live theatre and a discussion with the audience to explore the power of the arts to provide safer space in violent contexts.

All welcome! Please reserve your free ticket on Eventbrite.