About ART

In 1999, the poet Antjie Krog wrote that attending the public hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa was like being present at the birth of a new language. Globally, we are at such a moment of transition and contention, epitomised by the rise of post-truth politics and populism and its intersection with other crises (Covid-19, climate change, rising inequality and poverty, new and old forms of conflict). We live in a world where expert opinion is derided; truth as a category is questioned; and audiences, including the wider public, feel disconnected from human rights. While established languages of social justice, such as human rights, are under siege, new languages or idioms are struggling to be born.  

ART (2022-25) is hosted by the Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR), University of York, and project partners include the Yorkshire Sculpture Pak, CIVICUS, and Amnesty International.

The research is organised in three stages. A first, scoping stage (2022-23) took stock of existing bodies of work to identify emerging and innovative languages and idioms, and ongoing challenges. This analysis informed a second, commissioning stage (2023-25) where new collaborations between artists and activists and residencies have been funded, and accompanied by real-time research. A third stage (2024-25) focuses on outputs, dissemination, knowledge exchange and impact.