Art as Protest: How the Arts Can Advance Human Rights
Art as Protest: How the Arts Can Advance Human Rights
October 17 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm IST
Protest comes in many forms and art, as a form of protest, can be used to raise awareness, show and encourage solidarity, and criticise government. With our strong artistic and cultural lineage, artists in Ireland are at the heart of many protest movements. This panel discussion titled ‘Art as Project: How the Arts Can Advance Human Rights ‘will explore the links between protest, solidarity and the arts. It will bring together artists, activists, academics, and individuals to see how they are working towards a common aim. In addition to the panel discussion with artists and activists, the evening will feature a short training session on your rights when protesting. The panel discussion is presented by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and takes place on Thursday 17 October from 6.30 to 8.30 pm at Hen’s Teeth, Dublin 8.
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Artists
Ailbhe Smyth, feminist, LGBTIQA+, socialist activist (event chairperson)
Zoë Lawlor, Chairperson and Cultural Liaison Officer, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (event speaker)
Full Event Details
Far right and extremist movements and narratives are on the rise in Ireland and across the world. Many governments are also moving to repress people’s right to peacefully protest. Here in Ireland, we in the Irish Council for Civil Liberties continue to protect this right.
Protest comes in many forms and art, as a form of protest, can be used to raise awareness, show and encourage solidarity, and criticise government. With our strong artistic and cultural lineage, artists in Ireland are at the heart of many protest movements.
The panel discussion will explore the links between protest, solidarity and the arts. It will bring together artists, activists, academics, and individuals together to see how they are working towards a common aim.
This event will bring together protesters, artists and activists to explore the intersection between protest and the arts, and the role the arts can play in advancing human rights. The event will consider questions such as:
· How can artists act in solidarity with protest movements?
· What steps can we take to create stronger relationships between protest movements and artists in Ireland?
· How do protest movements use art to gain political and popular support?
· What role can art and artists play in combatting the growing threat of the far-right and anti-rights movements?
Speakers will include:
· Ailbhe Smyth, feminist, LGBTIQA+, socialist activist
· Zoë Lawlor, Chairperson and Cultural Liaison Officer, Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign
The panel discussion is hosted by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties is Ireland’s leading independent human rights campaigning organisation. They monitor, educate and campaign to secure human rights for everyone in Ireland. They are committed to an Ireland that is more just, more free, and where human rights and civil liberties are enjoyed by everyone. They act as an essential defender of human rights and civil liberties and as an effective champion for the advancement of justice and freedom in Irish society.
Speaker Biographies
A feminist, LGBTIQ+ and socialist activist, Ailbhe Smyth was the founding head of Women’s Studies at UCD. Recent campaigns she has been involved in include the referendums for Marriage Equality and for the legalisation of abortion. She is Chair of Women’s Aid and is a founder member of Le Cheile: Diversity not Division. Ailbhe was named in Time Magazine’s ‘The world’s 100 most influential people’ list in 2019 and is a Freewoman of the City of Dublin.
Zoë Lawlor is the Chairperson and cultural and sporting liaison of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign,
She is from Limerick and has been involved in anti-racist and refugee solidarity, as well as with Palestine solidarity for years. She is a co-founder of Gaza Action Ireland and spent a week in Israeli prison having been part of the Freedom Flotilla campaign to break the siege of Gaza. With Gaza Action Ireland, she visited Gaza and made links with civil society there, bringing Palestinian art to Ireland, exhibiting in Limerick and nationwide. With the Gaza Kids to Ireland project, she brought a children’s football team here to tour Ireland two years in a row, they were based in Limerick and played football around the country.
With the IPSC, in partnership with the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), she works to advance the cultural boycott of apartheid Israel and to build solidarity with Palestine in the arts community, as well as to raise awareness of Israeli apartheid.
Organisations Involved / Partner Organisation(s):
