Art as a response to wartime sexual violence
SHQ:
Organizata studentore – VLERA ka kënaqësine të ju ftoj në konferencën e rradhës me temën: “ART AS A RESPONSE TO WARTIME SEXUAL VIOLENCE” nga Alketa Xhafa Mripa që do të mbahet me datë 14 nëntor 2017 duke filluar nga ora 19:00 në ambientet e ULB – kampusin Solbosch (lokali S.A.Z.1.101).
Përdhunimi i përdorur si armë është një fenomen i pëhapur dhe i kualifikuar si krim lufte sipas ligjit ndërkombëtar,poashtu stigmatizimi social dhe kulturor i tij është aq shkatërrues ku ne si shoqëri duhet të flasim për këtë fenomen që t’i ndihmojmë viktimat dhe t’i rrëzojmë tabutë rreth këtij krimi.
Në këtë kontekst, Alketa Xhafa Mripa do të flasë për realizimin artistik të saj të famshëm “Mendoj për ty” të instaluar në Stadiumin e Prishtinës për të mbijetuarit e dhunës seksuale gjatë luftës së fundit në Kosovë.
ENG:
This conference will take place within the framework of the week “A WEEK TO FIGHT RAPE” (https://www.facebook.com/
Address: ULB, campus « Solbosch », building A.Z.1.101.
Alketa Xhafa Mripa is a London-based conceptual artist and activist whose art is concerned with issues such as history, memory and gender relations, through mixed media installation, painting and photography. Exhibited widely, her work can be seen in Museum of Chaville in Paris, along with museums in Florence, Pristina, Lisbon, Berlin and London.
A bold messenger for activist art, Alketa is a passionate advocate of the truth, and human rights. Empowering women living in oppressive societies, she shares with the world a deep emotional response to the reality in which she exists.
After spending her childhood in Kosovo where she completed her primary and secondary education, Alketa came to London in 1997 to study Fine Art at Central Saint Martins, before going on to study History of Art at the Tate Modern, London.
Arriving as a student, Alketa became a refugee when the 1998-1999 Kosovo war broke out.
Since then she has displayed her multi-faceted work in exhibitions across Europe including Berlin, London, Italy, Portugal and her native Kosovo, where she gained wider recognition for her art installation ‘Thinking of You’.
In ‘Thinking of You’, Alketa used a Kosovan football stadium as her canvas, which she painted with thousands of donated dresses in a powerful tribute to survivors of sexual violence, aiming to pierce the silence surrounding wartime rape.
Kosovan President Jahjaga was the first to donate a dress, praising the solidarity and support the art work generated for the women.
Taking multiple forms, including films and installations, paintings and photography, her art promotes women’s liberation and independence, shining a spotlight on the reductionist behaviour of oppressive societies.
In her current, ongoing work, titled ‘Refugees Welcome’, Alketa seeks to recreate the welcoming feeling she herself experienced when she was new to the UK. Transforming the inside of a 1970s decked-out truck into a seemingly welcoming area for individuals to share their own experiences and thoughts on how refugees should be welcomed, Alketa has created a space that serves as both a reminder of the darker side of the refugee experience and an invitation to imagine a brighter future.
Ahead of presenting the installation at the second Refugees Welcome Here March in London on 17th September 2016, Alketa said:
‘Art may not be a solution for the millions of people in the world who have lost their homes. But I believe that art can make the issue of refugees visible, in a way that is understood by all, regardless of faith, nationality or language. Where language fails, art can break through. People have known about the use of rape as a weapon of war in Kosovo for a long time, but when I hung 5000 dresses in a football stadium there last year, they couldn’t look away. They were faced with the reality! Refugees Welcome will be a window into the welcoming Britain I remember – a safe space where people from all backgrounds can come in, have a sit down and share a story. I hope you can join me.’