The Art/Law Network invites you to our workshop in Belfast, taking place on 18 July, on the theme of ‘Action in ART/LAW’ and ways artists, legal thinkers and practitioners, and agitators of different kinds, consider the coming together of thinking and practice, protest, activism and resistance, within their work, given the current context of world events. Praxis has its roots in resistant thinking, reinforcing the importance of theory and action coming together. We’d like this session to consider praxis therefore, and more broadly the need for participation and collaboration, within the work of our invited participants.
Some of the questions we would like to be considered by participants and how they speak to their work are: What do we mean by ‘action’? How does this translate within your work? Does action have to be a form of protest? What does action mean in the coming together of art and law? What are the considerations between praxis, participation and collaboration? What can the coming together of art and law do to foster social change? How is social change inherent within the use of law within art forms?
Confirmed artists, legal thinkers and activists include:
Wee Nuls (Belfast)
Raymond Watson (Belfast)
River Sweeney (Brighton)
Micheál O’Connell (Mocksim) (Sussex/Ballydehob)
Aoife O’Donoghue (QUB, Belfast)
Isobel Roele (QMUL, London)
Connal Parsley (KLS, Canterbury)
Sophie Doherty (OU, Belfast)
Lizzy Willmington (Cardiff)
Swastee Ranjan (Exeter)
Lucy Finchett-Maddock (Bangor)
As part of the event we would like to foster productive examples of action in art/law, with a creative session and furthering ways we can work together on these themes beyond the workshop through the network, contributing to positive social change during these important times, through outputs, exhibitions, further collaborations etc.
We are excited to be hosting the event in the brilliant activist space Show Some Love, right in the heart of Belfast City Centre. We also have on show during the course of the event, some of the fantastic paste-up versions of the Universal Declarations of Human Rights (currently on the walls and streets of Glasgow), of the inspirational Turner Prize nominee and friend of the network, Delaine le Bas (all images copyrighted to Delaine le Bas, Jack Arts Scotland and Build Hollywood).
The location of the conference in Belfast is strategic as it is renowned for its cultural and arts engagement, indeed, being timely with its own international arts festival (Belfast International Arts Festival, 2024). Hosting the event here relates to the OU Four Nations strategy and can act as an opportunity to bring together those based in and around Belfast and grow the ALN across the UK and Ireland.
An Art/Law Network event funded by the Open University Law and Humanities Research Cluster, Center for Law and Society at Cardiff School of Law and Politics.
