These two events asked to what extent can art affect change when addressing issues of migration, displacement, and access - a public discussion exploring the capacity of artists and arts institutions to intervene in the current geopolitical climate.

They were preceded by a screening of French-Moroccan artist Bouchra Khalili’s ‘The Tempest Society’ and the launch of the artist’s book by the same name, in a partnership between the RCA, The Showroom and Book Works. The Tempest Society revisits ‘Al Assifa’, a politicised theatre group born out of the struggles of the Mouvement des Travailleurs Arabes (MTA), Palestine, anti-colonialism, and workers’ and immigrant labour rights.

The programme of screenings, presentations and debate that followed took place just twenty-four days before the UK was due to leave the UK on 31 March 2019. Curated by Elvira Dyangani Ose, director of The Showroom, with Michaela Crimmin, Reader in art and conflict at the RCA, they were held in partnership with Tate Britain. Gurminder Bhambra, professor of postcolonial and decolonial studies at the University of Sussex, gave the opening keynote addressing the inter-related subjects of national sovereignty, immigration laws, empire, racism, and dispossession. The artists and curators who followed included Kathrin Böhm, who talked about the artist-run pro-Remain campaign ‘Keep it complex – make it clear!’; Austrian artist Oliver Ressler who described projects which challenge racism and power structures; and Peruvian, Barcelona-based artist Daniela Ortiz, who took issue with the violence of migration and integration politics.

There is a 35-minute video of extracts from the events, together with videos of a number of the presentations.

The Royal College of Art is a partner in a four-year research programme, which includes these events, under the title '4Cs: from Conflict to Conviviality through Creativity and Culture'. This is a European Cooperation project co-funded by Creative Europe.

https://4cs-conflict-conviviality.eu