Arts Lab Rural Peace Hub is Up and Running
Arts Lab, begun in 2016, in Studio 20 at Dartington in South West UK, has moved to a converted farmhouse in the rural North East. Radical too, has been the decision, to fold conflict resolution and peacebuilding into the existing mix of visual art for social change.
The shift has been a result of ongoing sense-making of what’s going on in a world seemingly spiralling out of control with Peace, Resilience and Social Justice study at Bradford. And then there’s the news, littered increasingly with articles about forgotten communities at home, and swathes of urban and rural deprivation. The growing chasm between haves and have nots is a global issue.
The Arts and the need for expression and diverse voices, therefore, have never been greater. And opportunities to come together, take stock and consider next steps with positive, sustainable outcomes, equally important. The hope is for the Arts Lab Rural Peace Hub to be one tiny offering that brings all this together under one roof.
Encouraging Connections, Conversation and Creative Action, the Hub is a place where difficult conversations around conflict resolution and tackling issues of social inequality are facilitated through art workshops, good coffee, and contact with nature.
All welcome include: groups from the social sector, peacebuilding initiatives, the marginalised, communities affected by or recovering from conflict, institutions and workplace environments experiencing issues of reduced cohesion, morale and productivity, schools and universities running programmes in Peace and Conflict studies.
The Arts Lab Rural Peace Hub is open for day visits, workshops, art exhibitions and residentials. See here >>> for more information.
