Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

Many artists create work that intersects with political activism and social justice causes. Throughout history, art has been used as an accessible tool for communication, raising awareness about social issues and affecting positive change. This presentation explores the interchange between the art of Palestinian feminists Laila Ajjawi, Lina Abo Jaradeh, Samar Hazboun and Diala Al Daghlise who focus on encounters with invasion, occupation, and colonization. These histories have intersected in unusual and particular ways thus this paper considers how feminist artists investigate and redeploy these intersections through their creative designs. Much of the work is not necessarily treated as unique or as simple provocation, but as rooted in temporal memory; a reality that is not necessarily synonymous with the maps and boundaries, constructed by colonizers. Emphasis will be on the recurrent themes associated with the relationship between aesthetics and politics, conceptions of community and the public, and the practical aims of art, both intended and actual. Special attention is given to the way art is used as a form to contest and transform social injustice and inequity.