artasfoundation: Swiss Foundation for Art in Regions of Conflict

We live in a violent world, despite the peaceful efforts of millions of people working within communities, collectives, institutions, activist groups, political movements, and among citizens everywhere.

The image of peaceful existence is fragmented and challenged in many ways. We believe it must be reassembled — collectively, carefully, and imaginatively.

In our latest circular, we announce Frontlines of Engagement: An Assembly on Art in a World Shaped by Conflict, taking place February 11–13, 2027, in Zurich, Switzerland. Save the date!

Twice a year, we share a circular reflecting on what we have been working on. This edition brings together artworks, stories, relationships, and a poem. Our circulars often raise open or difficult questions, invite action, reflect on art in peacebuilding, and at times articulate our political positioning in response to global developments.

Read, follow, and share. Thank you.
https://bit.ly/4e99eq6

🖼️© Nini Gabritchidze

Art in Conflict – Discussion Series

Belonging, Loss, and the Language of Art

How do we create spaces for listening and understanding in a world shaped by migration, multilingualism, and colonial histories? What role can art play in fostering connection, dialogue, and peaceful transformation?

Join us for a conversation between Vida Rucli (Robida Collective) and Fazil On Yu (dancer, choreographer, activist, and performance artist) as they reflect on belonging, loss, memory, and the ways we engage with people, places, and histories through artistic practice.

10 June 2026
17:30–19:00 CEST

Gessnerallee, Zurich & Online

The event is free and held in English. Participation on-site is possible without registration. To join online via Zoom, please register in advance via DM or here https://bit.ly/4uFZnha .

Part of the ongoing Art in Conflict series by artasfoundation, exploring the role of art in conflict transformation and peacebuilding through conversations with artists, practitioners, and researchers from around the world.

The participants of the Art and International Cooperation at ZHdK Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, along with the programme co-directors Rana Yazaji and Hannah Pfurtscheller have returned home after a seven-day study trip in Armenia.
With the aim of learning what it means to work internationally, in cooperation and in fragile and conflict zones, we engaged in many conversations with artists, institutions and collectives.
Thank you to every one who shared their knowledge, and sometimes their doubts with us. Areg Balayan, Dr. Marine Karoyan, Vahan Badalyan, Shoghakat Mlke-Galstian, Stepan Veranian, Lusine Kharatyan, Sona Hrantouni, TUMO Studios, Davit Stepanyan, Tsolak Mlke-Galstyan, Ashot Sargsyan, Eleonora Sargsyan, Yana Avanesyan, Nazik Armenakyan and many more..

The study group will come together again in September for the third Module, till then we have a lot to digest and follow up on.
Reto Steiner, Roman Prikryl, Joanna Pottle, Lisa Obrist-Mamis, Sophie Krayer Babazadeh, Jessika Huber, Ursula Hildebrand, Johanna Heusser, Carla Engler, Christoph Frick, Jui Deogaokar, Simea Cavelti, Nadja Buser, Gurgen Baghdasaryan. We missed you Izz Aljabari and Diego Aramburo.

Art in Conflict – Practice #4
PASSAR IL CUNFIN – GRENZ/ÜBERTRITT

Borders are not only lines on maps.
They exist in landscapes, languages, memories, and everyday movement.

As part of Art in Conflict – Practice #4, Artas Foundation invites you to a two-day walking workshop with Vida Rucli in the border region of Val Müstair.

Through walking, listening, storytelling, and collective reflection, participants will explore visible and invisible borders — from mountain paths and fog lines to personal and political experiences shaped by migration, belonging, and border regimes.
The workshop is open to artists, activists, cross-border commuters, diaspora communities, migrant workers, and anyone interested in how borders shape our realities and relationships.

Val Müstair
11–12 June 2026
11 June — First gathering around the fire for barbecue and storytelling
12 June — Walking workshop and hike
Languages: German, English, Italian, Romansh (and others depending on participants)

Participation is based on a solidarity pricing model:
0–50 CHF — for people with limited financial means
70 CHF — standard fee
140 CHF — support contribution helping others participate

The contribution includes dinner on 11 June, as well as breakfast and snacks during the hike on 12 June.

Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation costs. Affordable camping options are available, and support with carpooling or shared travel arrangements can be provided.

Registration is open until 31 May 2026.
To register, please send us a DM.

Art in Conflict – Practice is a spin-off of the Art in Conflict – Discussion Series, translating reflection into collective practice through artistic and embodied encounters.

Dear community,

Living Room warmly invites you to the opening of a photography exhibition by Sevak Asryan on April 26.

The exhibition brings together visual narratives of Nagorno Karabagh's cultural landscapes, spaces where memory is embedded in stone, architecture, and the silence of place.

Through his lens, Sevak Asryan captures traces of presence, loss, and continuity, inviting viewers to reflect on heritage, memory, and belonging.

Location: Living Room, 26 Arshakunyats, Yerevan
Date: April 26
Time: 15:00

We look forward to welcoming you.

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«Որտեղ քարերը հիշում են»

Սիրելի՛ ընկերներ,

Living Room-ը սիրով հրավիրում է ձեզ ապրիլի 26-ին մասնակցելու Սևակ Ասրյանի լուսանկարչական ցուցահանդեսի բացմանը։

Ցուցահանդեսը ներկայացնում է Արցախի մշակութային տեսարանների պատկերային պատմություններ՝ տարածքներ, որտեղ հիշողությունը պահպանվում է քարի, ճարտարապետության և տարածության լռության մեջ։

Սևակ Ասրյանը իր օբյեկտիվի միջոցով արձանագրում է ներկայության, կորստի և շարունակության հետքերը՝ խորհելու ժառանգության, հիշողության և պատկանելության շուրջ։

Վայր՝ Living Room, Արշակունյաց 26, Երևան
Ամսաթիվ՝ ապրիլի 26
Ժամը՝ 15:00

Սիրով սպասում ենք ձեզ։

Do you want to know more about , and ?
Then join us for the next Art in Conflict discussion on April 22nd.

Just as a violently asserted claim to territory forms a fundamental condition for (violent) conflict, spaces can also be designed to create the conditions for overcoming such conflict. What kind of space of possibility is needed to enable conflict transformation? How can urban spaces foster critical discourse and lived practice among diverse actors?

The artist and consultant Maja Leo, whose background is in theatre and participatory artistic practices, and the urban researcher , co-initiator of the project Researching Common Territories, talk about how artistic, spatial, and social processes can interact to open spaces where difference is not seen as division but as a starting point for shared learning.

📆 Wednesday, 22. April 2026, 17.30 – 19.00 CEST
📌 Stall 6, Gessnerallee 6, Zurich & 💻 Zoom

For Zoom participation on 22. April, please DM orregister here: https://bit.ly/4tIbHws

The series is presented in partnership with the ZHdK Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, the Mediathek of Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel FHNW (HGK Basel), and Gessnerallee Zürich.

Art in Conflict – Practice #3
Film Screening & Talk
Making Invisible Stories Visible – The Cinematic Work of Nicole Vögele

How do you tell a story shaped by what cannot be seen?
How can cinema make visible forms of violence embedded in landscapes?
As part of Art in Conflict – Practice, this evening brings together film and conversation to reflect on borders, memory, and the politics of invisibility.

The programme unfolds in two parts:
Film Screening
The Landscape and the Fury (Switzerland, 2024, 138 min)
17:30 CEST

Filmed in Ravnice, in northwestern Bosnia, the film explores a territory where traces of the Bosnian War remain and a European external border cuts through everyday life. Through a precise and attentive cinematic language, Nicole Vögele approaches the landscape as a space where history, violence, and solidarity coexist often invisibly.

Talk with the filmmaker
20:15 CEST
A conversation with Nicole Vögele on her artistic approach and the challenges of representing what resists visibility.

Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Time: 17:30 – 21:00 CEST
Location: Stall 6, Gessnerallee, Zurich + Zoom
Live broadcast at HGK Basel Mediathek

Language:
Film with English subtitles
Talk in English
Free entry
On-site participation without registration
Online participation via Zoom with prior registration (Please DM for the link)

Art in Conflict – Practice is a spin-off of the Art in Conflict Discussion Series, translating its reflections into practice.

Join us for an evening of cinema and dialogue, where landscapes speak and what is hidden begins to surface.

Discussion Series – Art in Conflict
Between Education and Art – Inspiring Self-Empowerment

What can art make possible in times and places shaped by crisis?
How can education and artistic practice come together to create spaces that people can truly shape for themselves?
This edition of Art in Conflict brings together two voices working at the intersection of art, education, and social transformation:

Lera Lerner
(Artist, Curator, Mediator, Founder of the Imaginary Museum of Displaced Persons) — joining on site

Fairooz Tamimi
(Author, Journalist, Action for Hope) — joining online
Together, they will reflect on how artistic and educational practices can foster connection, agency, and self-empowerment beyond structures of control.

Wednesday, 25 March 2026
17:30 – 19:00 CET
Zurich (Gessnerallee) & Zoom
Free entry | Language: English
Venue: Stall 6, Gessnerallee 6, Zurich
Online participation via Zoom with prior registration (DM or via link: https://bit.ly/4rJushR )
Live broadcast to the media library of the Academy of Art and Design Basel
Spontaneous participation on site is always possible.

DM for the Art in Conflict invitation list.

The Art in Conflict series explores questions of peacebuilding through conversations with artists, cultural practitioners, and researchers working across disciplines and geographies. Moderated by artasfoundation, the series connects practical experience with critical reflection.

Presented in partnership with Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), HGK Basel Mediathek, and Theater Gessnerallee Zürich.

—
Also:
Join Lera Lerner for a hands-on workshop
Sunday, 22 March, 12:00–17:00
A Collaborative Cookbook with Plants from Labyrinthplatz
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Upcoming sessions:
22 April 2026 — Spaces of Possibility in Conflict Transformation Through Arts
10 June 2026 — Belonging, Loss, and the Language of Art

On March 14 at 15:00, a music therapy session will take place at the Living Room. During the session, participants will have the opportunity to express their emotions on canvas, convey their inner feelings through colours, and, accompanied by music, explore new forms of creative self-expression.

The session will be led by , founder of the Shoonch Art Center

It is open to everyone who would like to step away from their daily routine for a few hours, listen, feel, and create.

To participate, please register in advance here DM or : https://forms.gle/crDV6yHpLfAc3MSKA

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Մարտի 14-ին՝ ժամը 15:00-ին Living Room-ում տեղի կունենա երաժշտաթերապիայի հանդիպում։ Հանդիպման ընթացքում մասնակիցները հնարավորություն կունենան կտավի վրա արտահայտել իրենց հույզերը, գույների միջոցով փոխանցել ներքին զգացողությունները և երաժշտության ուղեկցությամբ բացահայտել ստեղծագործական ինքնարտահայտման նոր ձևեր։

Հանդիպումը կվարի Շունչ Արտ կենտրոնի հիմնադիր Գուրգեն Բաղդասարյանը։

Այն բաց է բոլոր նրանց համար, ովքեր ցանկանում են մի քանի ժամով կտրվել առօրյա հոգսերից, լսել, զգալ և ստեղծագործել։

Մասնակցության համար անհրաժեշտ է նախապես գրանցվել այստեղ՝ https://forms.gle/crDV6yHpLfAc3MSKA կամ գրեթ էջին:

Art in Conflict – Practice #2 Workshop with Lera Lerner

How can plants, places, and collective imagination become a shared creative practice?
As part of the Art in Conflict – Practice series, artist and curator Lera Lerner invites participants to explore the plant life surrounding Labyrinthplatz (Kaserne Zurich) and transform these discoveries into a collaborative cookbook.

Working with the approach of sociopoetic art, a practice rooted in inclusion and mutual learning, participants will gather plants, exchange stories, and develop recipes inspired by what grows in and around the space. The results will be documented through simple printing techniques and assembled into a collectively created zine.
Lera Lerner, born in St. Petersburg and based in Paris, combines artistic practice with scientific research, holding a PhD in plant genetics. Her work often explores the relationships between ecology, knowledge, and collective creativity.

This workshop is organised in cooperation with Labyrinthplatz Zürich and grows out of the Art in Conflict discussion series, translating its reflections into practice.

Date: Sunday, 22 March 2026
Time: 12:00 – 17:00
Location: Labyrinthplatz Zürich, Zeughaushof, Kanonengasse 16, 8004 Zurich
Language: English
Participation: Free of charge.
Participants who can afford it are invited to contribute 25 CHF (regular) or 50 CHF (solidarity contribution).
Registration: Please register by 13 March 2026 via [email protected]

Also coming up:
Lera Lerner will join the Art in Conflict discussion series for a conversation titled “Between Education and Art – Inspiration for Self-Empowerment” together with Fairooz Tamimi.
25 March 2026
17:30 CET
Stall 6, Zurich or online via Zoom