The Role of Art and Artists in Times of War and Conflict

The Role of Art and Artists in Times of War and Conflict

Date: Wednesday September 18th, 2024
Time: 11am
Speakers: Rahiem Shadad (Abdelrahiem Ibrahim) – Curator, Katarzyna (Kasia) Grabska – Anthropologist

Abstract:

In this discussion we dive into the changes and shifts that occured to the cultural scene and specifically visual arts in
Sudan since the start of the conflict. How did the artists react to the various emergencies and their response to the
loss of space and relocation. The discussion also gives perspective on the various adaptability methods showcased
by the artists.

Biography of the Speakers:

Born in 1995, Khartoum Rahiem Shadad (Abdelrahiem Ibrahim) is a curator and a gallerist, currently serves as the director of the Downtown Gallery and previously as assistant curator for the Regional French Institute in Sudan. Rahiem has been involved in the local art scene since 2015, and he has become a key player in the spectrum since the opening of the Downtown Gallery in 2019. In the war that started in April 2023 in Sudan, Rahiem has lost Downtown Gallery and was exiled from Sudan and is currently living in Nairobi, Kenya; navigating the various ways for discussing cultural work during and post the war. Since the war he has been to 6 countries organizing exhibitions, talks, seminars, and advocacy programs to discuss the war and to allow for the healing of displaced individuals, specially artists.

Katarzyna (Kasia) Grabska, is a feminist anthropologist, a research professor at the Centre of Humanitarian Studies, University of Geneva, Switzerland. She has been researching in Sudan since 2002 focusing on gender, generation, youth, displacement, refuges, return, and identities, access to rights for refugees in urban settings. In her current research INSPIRE, she focuses on the inspiration of creative practice and artists working in conflict zones and in exile, including Sudan. She collaborates often with artists in her research, and engages with research-creation to understand issues of belonging, displacement, mobilities and identities.