Bernstein Symposium: Art and Authority / Art as Advocacy

Bernstein Symposium - Art and Authority / Art as Advocacy

Politics and art have always had a fraught relationship. Tyrants and demagogues have used art to secure and sustain authority. They have also viewed artists as dissidents and art as a threat to their own power. Some artists and scholars make claims about the ability of art to foster empathy and inspire action. Others disavow art’s political potential. Human rights, as an emancipatory discourse and practice, is entangled in these dichotomies. This year’s Bernstein Symposium seeks to explore fundamental questions about the relationship between art and international human rights. What role can art play in bringing about social change, particularly achieving greater respect for human rights? How can we assess – and on what terms can we even discuss – the “efficacy” of art? What ethical considerations affect the artistic representation of violence, suffering and loss and the publication and distribution of such representations? How do artists themselves understand the relationship between aesthetic goals and social goals? 

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