2012 Art and Social Justice Conference: 7- 8 October 2012!

It is time again for the world known Art and Social Justice Conference. Below is the invitation from Gernika Peace Museum, Gernika Gogoratuz Peace Research Center and the Culture House of Gernika, the main organisers of the conference this year.

3rd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ART AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Arts, Crisis and Social Transformation
Gernika-Lumo (Basque Country, SPAIN)
7-8 October 2012

We are proud to announce the III Art & Social Justice Conference which will be from 7th-8th October at The Gernika Peace Museum in Spain. This 3th conference has been organized by the Gernika Peace Museum, Gernika Gogoratuz Peace Research Center and the Culture House of Gernika. The theme of this year’s conference is Arts, Crisis & Social Transformation and the symbolic choice of Gernika --this year of commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the bombing and of the creation of the masterpiece “Guernica” by Picasso-- as a location is important in the context of this theme.

The current crisis in western societies, largely a result of the greed of the banking system and different forms of political corruption and mismanagement is attacking many basic aspects of our lives. It is a basic human right to have a job, have a home, have food, access to education, healthcare, and to be able to engage freely in making, creating and sharing artistic works. However in many parts of the world, the crisis is and has been permanent and any discussion on the role of the arts in societies in crisis has to embrace these realities too.
This situation leads to questions about governance, change, morality, freedom, justice, individual rights, sustainability and society.These issues are not only central to Human Rights as contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but recurring themes central to the arts in general. In a time of crisis art manifests itself in different forms through critical thinking and a heightened sense of challenging injustice, hypocrisy and inequalities. Artists play a key role in transforming people, societies, and cultures simply by reflecting on what is going on around them. Our choice of location this year, Gernika-Lumo, Spain is very symbolic and important to the notion of arts and transformation in a time of crisis as the town is a significant global landmark for the arts and peace movement.

The Art & Social Justice Conference has been held in Durban, South Africa at Durban University of Technology (2010) and Nicosia, Cyprus at The University of Nicosia (2011). This year’s conference is important for its choice of a historical location, Gernika-Lumo, Spain where we will discuss and reflect on Arts, Crisis & Social Transformation through an innovative multi-dimensional approach:
1. Presentation of specific papers
2. Workshops by arts practitioners
3. Circle discussions at the end of each day
4. Performance and display of artistic work

Contributions pertaining to Arts, Crisis and Social Transformation are welcome - see information below on submitting abstracts for a paper, workshop, or performance.
Organised by
Gernika Peace Museum Foundation, Gernika Gogoratuz Peace Research Center, Culture House of Gernika.
With collaboration from:
Art and Social Justice Durban Conference 2010, Jan Jordaan, Art for Humanity & Durban University of Technology & Mike Hajimichael, Art and Social Justice Nicosia Conference 2011 & University of Nicosia, Department of Communications
Sponsored by
Euskadi Fundación 2012 Fundazioa. The Year of Culture, Peace And Liberty. Human Rights Direction. Basque Government;

Registration for the Conference, fees and information
Early Bird - reduced conference fee before the 31st August 2012 €150
Conference fee after the 31st August 2012 €200
The fee includes
- Conference Program
- Lunch and dinner 7th and 8th October
- Free entry to all artistic performances held during the conference
- Excursions (Winery, coast, Gernika-Lumo’s Museums)
- Simultaneous translation (Spanish-English)
- Free registration for our other conferences:
V. INTERNATIONAL ART AND PEACE MEETING: Kids’ Guernica. An International Art Project for Peace, in Gernika-Lumo, 6th “October 2012.
“I INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON ART, MEMORY AND DEMOCRACY; From Picasso´s Guernica to the present day” in Gernika and Bilbao, 9TH-11TH October 2012.
Paper, Workshop, Performance Requirements
Papers presented at the Conference should focus on the theme of the conference: “Arts, crisis and social transformation”.
Please submit by 3rd August 2012, the proposal should contain the following information:

- Title of the paper
- Abstract (300 words maximum)
- Keywords
- Language: Spanish and/or English
- Biography (150 words) including phone and e-mail contact

Suggestions for workshops & performances are welcome from participants. Workshops should include a 300 word description concerning relevance to the conference.
Performances will be hosted at the conference including poetry, readings, and music. Please supply any links online of works to be presented and a 300 word description.

For more information please contact:
Iratxe Momoitio (Director) zuzendaritza.museoa@gernika-lumo.net
Gernika Peace Museum
Tel             (+34)946270213    
María Oianguren (Director) mariaoianguren@gernikagogoratuz.org
Gernika Gogoratuz. Peace Research Center
Further details available on our main conference web site:
http://www.museodelapaz.org/en/conferences.php
http://www.gernikagogoratuz.org
We look forward to welcoming you to ASJ III Gernika 2012