This interactive and participatory workshop will explore the role of Conflict Textiles as a vehicle for giving testimony about the lived experience of conflict, focusing on Colombia. The Conflict Textiles collection includes arpilleras (three-dimensional appliquéd tapestries), wall hangings and quilts which depict conflict, disappearance, displacement and human rights violations, and resistance against these violations.

These textiles are often made by women, and in particular women who have been directly impacted by violence and human rights violations. In contexts of violence, fear, and intimidation the textiles are a form of witnessing, through which truths can be told and violence documented. In addition to depicting acts of violence and demonstrations of resistance, these textiles also capture the day-to-day lived experience of those living in sites of conflict. Thus, they provide a snapshot of life on the ground in contexts of conflict and mass violence.

On display at this workshop will be a selection of Colombian pieces from the Conflict Textiles collection. Collector and curator of the collection, Roberta Bacic, will introduce the textiles. These textiles tell the stories of both those who have remained in Colombia, and those who were forced into exile. Workshop participants will be invited to participate in a conversation on the relationship between these textiles and themes such as voice, agency, memory, truth, justice, and human rights.

Image Credit

Desplazamiento / Displacement,

Colombian arpillera, Mujeres tejiendo sueños y sabores de paz, Mampuján, 2010.

Conflict Textiles collection

Photo: Martin Melaugh, © Conflict Textiles