Addressing War? On artistic engagement with conflict and violence

Wars are as present in public discourse, political debates and the social realities of many people as they have been in a long time. Artists worldwide are engaging with this reality in manifold ways — in texts, images, sounds or bodies. Art is often a site of critique, reflection or re-enactment, but it can equally serve glorification or propaganda. The dominance of certain narratives in artistic work, while other perspectives are sidelined, shapes how violent conflicts are perceived and addressed. This symposium invites reflection on staging and enactment: how is war artistically processed and translated into performative strategies? Can war itself be understood as a form of staging? And what role does the deliberate production of emotion play — both in military contexts and in art?

The panel discussion “The Making of War Images” explores how we think and talk about war through images. In times of war, we are confronted with shocking accounts and images, while recognising that people are affected by war in profoundly different ways – some directly, others through manyfold implications. These images are never neutral: those who create and disseminate them pursue particular interests and draw on specific narrative and visual strategies. Kateryna Botanova (art critic), Joyce Mutiso (UNICEF) and Rabih Mroué (artist), moderated by Darija Davidovic, discuss how images of war are produced and how particular imaginaries of war take shape. They examine the decisions and interests that shape these representations, as well as their wider social and political consequences.

The evening closes with Diana Rojas-Feile’s performance “Corazón Rudo”, which asks how a society can find its way back to peace after more than seven decades of civil war. Reflecting on the long aftermath of the Colombian armed conflict, shaped by historical inequality, political exclusion and the global drug economy, the piece centres on the experiences of people recruited as children by armed groups: stories of coercion, ideology, survival and the difficult path towards reintegration. Combining documentary material, personal reflection, sound and visual elements, “Corazón Rudo” creates a poetic space for collective listening, dignity and imagining a life beyond war.

A collaboration between the Swiss National Museum and the SNSF research project “Ästhetisierung von Kriegsgewalt” at Bern University of the Arts. The event is free of charge; advance registration is required.

Schedule

17:00 Introduction

17:05 Panel discussion “The Making of War Images”

18:25 Multimedia Performance “Corazón Rudo” (Short Version)

19:00 Apéro

Workshop 1: A workshop about “Listening: Voices, Silence and War” will take place from 14:30 to 16:30. Registration is required. Places are limited. Please register here.

Workshop 2: A workshop about “Singing on Conflict” will take place from 14:30 to 16:30. Registration is required. Places are limited. Please register here.