Exploring Visual Culture and Peace
Looking back at the year 2023, we find it difficult to present a positive outlook for the upcoming year. Too many people suffer from violent conflict, and too many divisions exist, and seem to intensify, between and within countries. Advancements in peace seem illusionary in many contexts.
Memory has become a keyword in the arts, the social sciences and the humanities when addressing the past and its legacies. To remember is an individual faculty but, as individuals normally remember as members of social groups, also a collective faculty. Individual and collective memories do not always coincide; in different social groups, individuals remember differently what seems to be the same event. Likewise, personal memories and official narratives are not always identical. Indeed, there is often a profound tension between what individuals remember and what they are required to remember according to official narratives. Insisting on individual memories can put people at risk. Memory is never fixed, it is always emerging, shaped in light of and adapted to present requirements.
Urban(R)Evolution chronicles the fascinating development of urban art, beginning with its early stages as tags, graffiti, and subway pieces, progressing through the influential middle period and, eventually, giving rise to street art. The art form originated with spray paint and wheat paste but quickly evolved to incorporate various techniques from around the globe. The explosive combination of graffiti, breakdancing, and rapping led to a worldwide eruption of popular expression. […] The revolutionary aspect of the show lies in the intentional accessibility of the artwork from the urban art movement. The artists’ openness to working on any surface and their use of diverse media and techniques were groundbreaking for a global art movement. Urban(R)Evolution explores the phenomenal creative explosion that swept across the world, facilitated by the power of mass media and the low barrier to entry for artists. SOURCE: https://urbanrevolution.pt/en/home/ Curators: Pauline Foessel and Pedro Alonzo
The city of Lisbon is an apt place for this exhibition. Over the last ten years, the city has experienced an urban revolution in terms of commercialization, modernization and gentrification, selling out its unique, if partially dilapidated, structure and atmosphere in exchange for revenue stemming from investment capital and the tourist industry which increasingly overwhelm the city’s infrastructure.
Memory has become a keyword in the arts, the social sciences and the humanities when addressing the past and its legacies (Salzman 2006). To remember is an individual faculty but, as individuals normally remember as members of social groups, also a collective faculty (Halbwachs 1992). Individual and collective memories do not always coincide; in different social groups, individuals remember differently what seems to be the same event. Likewise, personal and official memories and the narratives derived from and legitimized through them are not always identical. Indeed, there is often a profound tension between what individuals remember and what they should remember according to official narratives. Insisting on individual memories can put people at risk. Memory is politics.
We are happy to say that Palgrave Macmillan has published our new book Peace, Complexity, Visuality: Ambiguities in Peace and Conflict.
We are proud to announce that Palgrave Macmillan has published our book Peace, Complexity, Visuality: Ambiguities in Peace and Conflict this week. In preparation for the book’s release, we published blog posts introducing the book’s different parts.
We are proud to announce that Palgrave Macmillan has published our book Peace, Complexity, Visuality: Ambiguities in Peace and Conflict this week. We continue publishing blog posts introducing the book’s different parts.
In October, Palgrave Macmillan will publish our book Peace, Complexity, Visuality: Ambiguities in Peace and Conflict. In preparation for the book’s release, we will publish blog posts over the next couple of weeks introducing the book’s different parts.
In October, Palgrave Macmillan will publish our book Peace, Complexity, Visuality: Ambiguities in Peace and Conflict. In preparation for the book’s release, we will publish a couple of blog posts over the next weeks introducing the book’s main lines of thought and its different parts.
Postponed until after the midsummer festivities, we are now happy to send you summer greetings combined with updated information about our recent activities.