This song/poem was written by Spontaneous the Poet, and recorded as part of the Creating Safer Space research project “Nonviolent Artivism Against Police Brutality in Kenya”.
Spontaneous the Poet says, “This piece was written in remembrance of people who’ve lost their relatives from extra judicial killings. It is actually based on a true story and I’m so grateful that they took part in the shooting of the video.”
This music video by Gio Monteadentro explores the importance of community art in the context of urban conflict in Medellín, Colombia.
The music video was produced as part of the 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.
This short film explores the impact of the conflict in southern Thailand on Malay Muslims, and their struggle to express their own identity and culture. It was produced by the Creating Safer Space project “UCP in Southern Thailand: Developing civilian protection guidelines for violence-prone communities”.
In Caring for Community Life, the Senú indigenous people of the Almendros 2 reservation in El Bagre, one of the municipalities hardest hit by armed violence in Colombia, tell how they have been organizing to resist armed groups and remain in their ancestral territories.
This short film was produced as part of the research project “The Social Process of Guarantees of Antioquia, Colombia, an experience of unarmed civil protection with indigenous and peasant communities of Bajo Cauca”.
The Creating Safer Space project “Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection” has produced a series of three short films about rivers, self-protection and community care.
These three films emerged from a research project that explored water conflicts around the rivers La Paloma (Argelia), Santo Domingo (San Francisco) and Dormilón (San Luis) in the Oriente region of the department of Antioquia, Colombia. Peasant communities and organizations in the region have a history of social mobilization against extractivist projects such as hydroelectric power plants, mining, and construction works in protected areas. These projects, often backed by armed actors, have changed the landscape and agricultural lifestyle of many municipalities. Community self-protection in these contexts includes cultivating social practices and relationships aimed at caring for water and life.
Reel: Let the rivers be for Life!
San Luis, Antioquia, Colombia: Rio Dormilón
Argelia, Antioquia, Colombia: Río Santo Domingo
Argelia, Antioquia, Colombia: Río La Paloma
La Fiesta is a theatre play written by Óscar Manuel Zuluaga, and performed by Harlequin and the Jugglers.
It is inspired by the findings of the Creating Safer Space project “Art that protects: Contributions of artistic-cultural initiatives to the self-protection strategies of young people and women in the context of urban conflict in Medellín, 2022“, implemented by the Faculty of Nursing of the University of Antioquia and the Cultural Corporation for Development Arlequín y Los Juglares (Harlequin and the Jugglers).
La Fiesta is a story where hope beats death through joy. In it, the street becomes the stage and the stage becomes the street. It tells us how the inhabitants of the deprived neighbourhoods of Medellín have resisted with celebration the advance of a conflict that has torn the soul of a wounded city. Drums, chants, books, music, carnival, juggling, rap and hip hop become the art that protects, a community art whose main purpose is to serve as a platform for the inhabitants of the neighbourhood to express themselves, to denounce, to undergo catharsis, to resist. This art is the umbrella that protects civilians from violence.
Witnessed by 600 spectators at the renowned Pablo Tobón Uribe Theatre of Medellín on 17 May 2023, this magical piece transported the audience into a realm of wonder. Among them were members of artistic-cultural organizations from vulnerable urban areas, underscoring the transformative power of art in communities affected by urban violence.
More information about the theatre performance is available in Spanish and English.