Artivism Futures: Reimagining Human Rights Activism

Saturday November 15th
Doors open at 9.30am; Event starts at 10am; Ends 5pm

How is creative activism (artivism) transforming human rights work across the globe?

During this special, day-long event — a collaboration between the Art Rights Truth research project at the University of York, Amnesty International, CIVICUS, and Kairos — we’ll explore how to build creative resistance for the long term.

Last year, Art Rights Truth (ART) collaborated with Amnesty International and CIVICUS on two separate calls, inviting artists and activists to work together. The first, titled ‘Conversations with Reports’, responded to an Amnesty International report on the right to protest in Europe, and the second to the international ‘We Are (for) Civil Society’ initiative by CIVICUS. The result of these collaborations was a series of works that offered distinctive perspectives on the right to protest and its value to civil society, respectively.

The day will feature a mini-exhibition of some of those works; a panel discussion, Sustaining Creative Resistance: Building Artivism Ecosystems for Long- Term Impact, with artivists Jona Wolf from Gear Up!, Kevin Bathman from Project Future Malaysia and human rights practitioner Renee Karunungan; and a hands-on zine-making workshop with Shift Slow.

Other participants will include Bound, Desobediencia Civil, Echoes of Resistance, Fingerprint Labyrinth, Trust the Protest Zine, Protect the Protest – Thawing the Chilling Effect, The Right to Protest Seen by Children, A0 of Freedom, We Remember, Art in the Heart of Community, Carnival of the Bold 2025: Reimagining Malaysia’s Collective Future, and We Remember.

Specific questions the collaborative project raised, and which we’ll be considering during the discussions and workshops, include:

• Can the arts help shape innovative, inclusive and radical narratives that contribute to positive human rights change and counter trends that restrict rights?
• What can human rights organisations learn from artists to create meaningful collaborations with the public?
• How can artivism support the centring of well-being for individuals, organisations and communities?

This event is for activists, community organisers, human rights campaigners, artists, academics and everyone interested in creative activism and safeguarding our civil spaces and our right to protest.

Come and experience artivism first hand and join us in collectively imagining new possibilities for creative resistance.

SCHEDULE
9.30am: Doors open, tea and coffee
10am: Introduction to the project (University of York, Amnesty International and CIVICUS)
10.15am: Sustaining Creative Resistance: Building Artivism Ecosystems for Long- Term Impact: Three ten minute talks by artivists Jona Wolf from Gear up!, Kevin Bathman from Project Future
Malaysia and human rights practitioner Renee Karunungan followed by group discussion.
An important part of activism is creating movements that focus on championing people's power and building sustainable communities to campaign for human rights. How can working with the arts help build movements and solidarities, and strengthen civil society mobilisation, over the medium to long term? We'll discuss how artivism supports the centring of well-being for individuals, organisations, and communities; informs sustainable funding models for creative activism; and helps movements navigate challenging political landscapes. Moderated by Inés Pousadela from CIVICUS.
11am: Tea and coffee break
11.15am: Introduction to the Zine-Making Workshop with Shift Slow
11.30am: Zine-Making Workshop with Shift Slow, supported by Sae Bosco from Amnesty International.
1.30pm: Lunch (vegan one-pot dish with bread)
2.30pm: Plenary and Wrap Up
3.30-5pm: Socialising

LAUNCH EVENT
Please also join us on Friday November 14th for the Launch of Artivism Futures with two short film screenings, drinks and a DJ. Doors open at 6.30pm with screenings at 7pm and food served from the bar at 8pm. More details and booking here.

Please note: To enable participation for everyone regardless of income, we are charging just £5 for entry. Spaces are limited however. If you find you’re no longer able to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else. For this event, we will not be issuing refunds or credits for future events. If you're struggling to afford even £5 please contact us via events@kairos.london. Entry is free for Frequent Visitor and Supporter Members.

REFERENCES

• Under Protected and Over Restricted: The State of the Right to Protest in 21 European Countries (July 2024): Amnesty International’s report which ‘reveals a continent-wide pattern of repressive laws, use of unnecessary or excessive force, arbitrary arrests and prosecutions, unwarranted or discriminatory restrictions as well as the increasing use of invasive surveillance technology, resulting in a systematic roll back of the right to protest’.
• "Can the Arts Save Human Rights? Human Rights Truth-Claims in a Post-Truth Era" Project by Paul Gready, Ana Bilbao and Emilie Flower for the University of York.

Kairos, 84 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4TG

Entry £5. Tickets are non-refundable. We will not be issuing credits for future events. 

Please note that this events will largely take place in our basement space and we do not have a lift so our venue is not fully accessible. Please get in touch if you have accessibility issues via events@kairos.london.