History of Art & Architecture
To Weave and Repair: Aesthetics in Colombia’s Peace Process
My book project studies the importance of aesthetic practices in Colombia in building conditions for nonrepetition in the wake of a fifty-year civil war. Artists, activists, and social movements have enlisted aesthetics to denounce human rights violations, demand an end to armed conflict, and weave networks of solidarity. Likewise, national transitional justice institutions, designed to build a “stable and lasting peace,”[i] have valued artistic practices as methods for truth-telling, repair, and fighting deeply-rooted discriminatory practices that erode human value. While there is much scholarship on symbolic reparations, the more expansive role of art in peace-building has yet to be explored. I argue that art and culture are inherent and important aspects of Colombia’s ongoing peace process. A holistic approach enables us to weave together collective and collaborative aesthetic efforts by non-state actors, state institutions, and non-government organizations in order to evaluate their impact, identify best practices, and obstacles ahead.