This call is part of the research project Art Rights Truth , funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), and co-hosted by the Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR) and the History of Art Department at the University of York, UK. Its aim is to understand how the arts contribute to the development of new languages of human rights. We are interested in how interventions at the intersection between the arts and activism communicate experiences of violence, suffering and pain on the one hand; and of justice, redress and reparation on the other. We assume that collaborative practice, notably between artists and activists, is crucial to the creation of such new languages.
A core part of the project is to commission new collaborative arts-based interventions; ‘Conversations with Reports – Amnesty International’ is one such call. It is an open call, and the maximum amount we offer for each commission is £4,000. Applicants can use this as micro- or seed-funding that either provides initial support to get a project off the ground or subsidises an ongoing initiative. Our focus is mainly on the visual arts, although applications in other forms will be considered. We are also interested in projects that are process based / seek to document a process, produce a series of works, and are easily replicable between sites (to allow for exhibitions and interventions linked to the art in multiple places and sites).
As this call is part of the Arts Rights Truth research project, successful applicants will also be included in relevant academic research in a light-touch way. It is not anticipated that projects are research-based nor that participants take part in Amnesty International’s research relating to documentation and advocacy. We look forward to discussing the specifics of artists’ and activists’ involvement in the research with successful applicants. We will also support dissemination of the artwork produced, through online and physical exhibitions, social media, at conferences and workshops, etc.
For more information, visit Arts Rights Truth (University of York)