The Art of Human Rights

Book Your Place

No Booking Necessary

Full Event Details

The Art of Rights is a powerful film installation situated in the Lecture Theatre of the Chester Beatty featuring a selection of artworks displayed on screen created by artists working on State of the Art: The Nation State as both Violator and Protector of Human Rights.

Displayed on screen are artworks by visual artists Amna Walayat, Hina Khan, Noelle McAlinden and Sinead McCann, dance performances by John Scott, Irish Modern Dance Theatre, music by Elkin (Carla Ryan and Ellen O Mahony), writings by Féilim James, Mary Moynihan and Geraldine McAlinden and artworks from theatre and film artists Mary Moynihan, Geraldine McAlinden, Áine O Hara, Michelle Costello,  Michael McCabe and Pamela McQueen, exploring themes of  gender equality, migration, racism, feminism,  disability rights, fragility, resilience, and more. Experience a kaleidoscope of visual art, theatre, dance, poetry, creative writing alongside responses by artists to key themes.

A key artwork representing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is created and evolving around this core artwork are a series of interdisciplinary artworks created by artists independently and collaboratively. The artworks are presented in film format on site at the Chester Beatty and, in order to promote access, the artworks can be viewed online on the Smashing Times virtual art gallery. 

State of the Art: The Nation State as both Violator and Protector of Human Rights

State of the Art: The Nation State as both Violator and Protector of Human Rights is a year-long project curated by Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality with a range of artists and partners, funded by The Arts Council of Ireland.

The State of the Art project brings together fourteen diverse artists through six collaborative artist exchanges and ongoing artistic engagement. Artists come together over one year, January to December 2021,  to explore, share and engage in  creative arts practice for human rights and to create a showcase of new work to be presented to a public audience. The artists include visual artists, theatre and film makers, dance artists, poets, writers, multi-disciplinary artists,  musicians and singer-songwriters.  Artists share, support and inspire each other in creative arts practice for human rights, equality and diversity –promoting experiential professional development and creativity.

The artists have engaged in  research on national and international best practice examples of arts and human rights from across Europe linked to sociological and anthropological standpoints and a study of ‘art as activism’ from the personal to the political. Through the collaborative exchanges, artists have engaged in a variety of activities as well as giving presentations on their own work, on work that inspires them, and meeting with representatives of a variety of human rights organisations and government officials, including Front Line Defenders, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), the Irish Network Against Racism (INAR), former Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu and Cllr Carly Bailey. Artists have met, discussed, and explored the arts for human rights, while engaging in knowledge sharing and peer learning.

The artists are:

• Mary Moynihan, writer, director, theatre and film maker, Artistic Director of Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality
• Pamela McQueen, dramaturg
• Carla Ryan, actor, singer-songwriter
• Noelle McAlinden, Visual Artist, Creative Advisor, Mental Health Campaigner, Curator and Cultural Broker
• Áine O’Hara, visual artist, theatre maker
• Geraldine McAlinden, writer, actor, director
• Hina Khan, visual artist
• Michael McCabe, actor, director, drama facilitator
• Féilim James, writer
• Amna Walayat, visual artist
• Michelle Costello, actor, visual artist
• Sinead McCann, visual artist
• John Scott, dancer, choreographer, Artistic Director of Irish Modern Dance Theatre
• Ellen O’Mahony, singer-songwriter

Read the artists biogs here

Artistic Creation

As part of State of the Art, the artists have created a series of showcase artworks to be presented for the 2021 Dublin Arts and Human Rights festival both live – at the Chester Beatty and dlr Mill Theatre Dundrum – and virtually as part of a visual art exhibition and film installation screened via the new Smashing Times Virtual Art gallery designed by Paul Marshall, curated by Mary Moynihan and supported by The Arts Council. The artworks are inspired by the theme State of the Art: The Nation State as both Violator and Protector of Human Rights and by the UN Declaration of Human Rights,  intersecting with equality, human rights and diversity and created under the framework of ‘Art as a Place of Performative Remembrance’ and ‘Art as Activism and Transformation’.

Access

For visitors with reduced mobility, the most suitable entrance is via the Ship St Gate of Dublin Castle, as it is the closest entrance to the Chester Beatty. If you are coming by car and you have a Disabled Person’s Parking Permit or Card, you will be permitted access to the grounds of the Castle, via the Ship Street entrance.  The nearest public car park is Christchurch Carpark.

The Chester Beatty is a wheelchair/buggy-friendly building, with wheelchairs available free of charge.  An accessible restroom for visitors in a wheelchair is located on the ground floor and many of our exhibits are placed at a comparatively low height to facilitate viewing by those visitors who use wheelchairs.

The Chester Beatty offers dementia-friendly tours on a regular basis, the lecture theatre is fitted with a loop system and visitors with guide or service dogs are welcome.

Organisations and Funders

Venue Information: