Location: Oulu Central Library Saari - Event Space Laituri
Address: Kaarlenväylä 2, 90015 Oulu, Finland | Venue Information | Event Map

When arts sectors and artists are straitjacketed into oppressive structures and openly threatened by policies and circumstances, where can our imaginations take us, how can they demand that we be seen and heard – and yet keep us as safe as possible from dire consequences?

In this session, we will encounter case studies from global majority contexts where structures of support for the arts have never reliably existed, and often been instruments of surveillance and control. We will interrogate how, why and where art gets made, and how artists and audiences survive and protect themselves when the very idea of ideas is under attack and visibility attracts grave danger. 

A keynote address will frame presentations from Syria, Rwanda and India that explore how one builds towards futures that do not exist, how support - as well as threats - can come from the most unlikely places and people, and how we must constantly redefine our codes of ethics in order to combat and respond to ever-shifting circumstances.

From there, the presenters will facilitate participatory group discussions where you can collectively develop evolving thoughts, provocations and offers for alternative ways of functioning and collaborating to nurture and protect arts ecosystems locally and globally.

Confirmed speakers

Vikram Iyengar, Artist-Curator-Arts Consultant, India
Urmimala Sarkar Munsi, Centre for Contemporary Studies, Prime Ministers Museum and Library, India
Carole Karemera, ISHYO Arts Centre, Rwanda
Brahim Jumaa, Theatre maker/Dramaturg, Syria/UK