Uncertain States Art and Empowerment
In his productions, Syrian playwright and theatre maker Mohammad Al Attar has lead a series of projects with marginalized groups in Syria. In the tradition of Augusto Boal’s “Theatre of the Oppressed”, the potential for artistic involvement becomes the medium of political and social enlightenment, critique and emancipation. In this same spirit, cultural activist Basma El Husseiny founded the Action for Hope organisation for refugees in the Middle East, taking art and culture as strategies of survival and self-determination. This approach is also evident in the work of Syrian storyteller and theatre maker Bassam Dawood, who came to Berlin in 2013 and gives refugees and rebels their own voice in radio reports and enactments.
The discussion focuses on emancipating a homeless generation from being determined by others, and preserving one’s own history as resistance.