What are the pitfalls of participation? And what role do community arts makers take (consciously or unconsciously) when they make participatory art that is part of a not-so-social, neoliberal political policy? For ICAF 2023, dr. Sruti Bala (University of Amsterdam) will build upon these arguments, by presenting two lectures. On Friday 31 March Sruti will present “Do No Harm” where she will dive into the practical consequences of the do-no-harm principle that derives from conflict resolution studies. It may sound like a no brainer, but what do we mean when we say ‘do-no-harm’? What kind of practical consequences does this have? How far does it go? What are the ethical questions you must ask yourself in order to ‘do no harm’? And what is the role of politics and policy in this?
The lecture will form part of a practical session in which makers will be encouraged to go into dialogue with each other after an introduction from Sruti, to explore the ideas presented further, and apply them directly to their own contexts and practices.
dr. Sruti Bala is Associate Professor at the Dept. of Theatre Studies, University of Amsterdam. She has previously presented at ICAF NWE MKRS 2021 and 2022 on the topic of the “Pitfalls of Participation in Community Arts”. Click here for her introduction to these topics in ZOOM, during ICAF NWE MKRS in 2021.