Art and Reconciliation: Conflict, Culture and Community

Art and Reconciliation: Conflict, Culture and Community is a programme of research that addresses key questions around the relationship between art and reconciliation, between culture and conflict, and between art, conflict, culture and community.

The convergence of art with conflict resolution, transitional justice and reconciliation has received greater attention in recent years as scholars and practitioners have sought to find innovative new ways of contending with legacies of war crimes and atrocity and to transform social relations in societies riven by violent conflict. But we still know little about 'what works'. Our initial research sought to answer this quesiton and was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) under its Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (PaCCS) and the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). Follow-on projects have been funded by the AHRC/GCRF and by the British Academy. The inter-disciplinary programme of research combines history, conflict resolution methodologies, art and creative practice, and both qualitative and quantitative social sciences. Art and Reconciliation is led by Professors James Gow and Rachel Kerr and the War Crimes Research Group in the Department of War Studies at King’s, in collaboration with Dr Denisa Kostovicova (London School of Economics and Political Science) and Dr Paul Lowe (University of the Arts London). The team includes Artist-in-Residence, Dr Milena Michalski, Dr Tiffany Fairey, Dr Henry Redwood (King’s), Dr Tom Pashkalis and Dr Ivan Sokolić (LSE). Our partners include UNDP Western Balkans, the Post-Conflict Research Centre, Sarajevo, and the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Hercegovina. In 2018 the project hosted RECONCILIATIONS a large scale public exhibition and events programme at The Exchange, Bush House, the University of Arts London and Regents University London.

Project Details


Location: United Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Europe Organiser(s): Rachel Kerr, James Gow Project partner(s): London School of Economics and Political Science, University of the Arts London, UNDP Western Balkans, the Post-Conflict Research Centre, Sarajevo, and the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Hercegovina. Funder(s): Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Funding received: £1 million Commencement Date: 10/2016 Project Status: Active
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