Restorative Justice

Tar sands and restorative justice

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Slick Sunset, N 57.14.07 W 111.35.15, Shell Albian Sands, Alberta, Canada, Louis Helbig, with permission

Slick Sunset, N 57.14.07 W 111.35.15, Shell Albian Sands, Alberta, Canada, Louis Helbig, with permission

Louis Helbig’s talk on his project Beautiful Destruction yesterday afternoon at Edinburgh College of Art brought together some interesting elements: environmental destruction in remote northern Alberta, national economic benefits, the role of the arts, the relevance of this to Scotland, Jim Hansen’s arguments about tipping points in climate change, the need for civic discourse and the uses of restorative justice techniques.

Louis presented on the Alberta Tar Sands highlighting the scale of the environmental and economic impact. The Tar Sands cover something like an area the size of England. There has been an investment over the past 10 years of something like $300 billion into this industry and investors represent every country in the world with an active oil industry. Canada has derived a massive economic benefit from the Alberta Tar Sands allowing it to ride out the global economic crisis and become an oil exporter.

Louis articulated his interest in the Alberta Tar Sands coming from the experience of flying, with his partner Kristin Reimer, over the workings and being amazed at the scale, whilst also being astounded at the lack of civic discourse in Canadian society. He described the polarisation of debate in Canada between the environmentalists and the industrialists, and he offered a critique of the environmentalists in terms of their lack of engagement with the subject over an extended period during the development of the industry. Canadian environmental NGOs have, according to Louis, largely ignored the Tar Sands until recently.

Scott Donaldson, Portfolio Manager at Creative Scotland, reminded us that Jim Hansen,  recently retired Director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the foremost scientists and more recently activists has specifically highlighted the development of Canada’s Tar Sands as a key indicator. Scientific American said this year,

His acts of civil disobedience started in 2009, and he was first arrested in 2011 for protesting the development of Canada’s tar sands and, especially, the Keystone XL pipeline proposal that would serve to open the spigot for such oil even wider. “To avoid passing tipping points, such as initiation of the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, we need to limit the climate forcing severely. It’s still possible to do that, if we phase down carbon emissions rapidly, but that means moving expeditiously to clean energies of the future,” he explains. “Moving to tar sands, one of the dirtiest, most carbon-intensive fuels on the planet, is a step in exactly the opposite direction, indicating either that governments don’t understand the situation or that they just don’t give a damn.” 23 Jan 2013

Hansen’s argument makes Canada’s tar sands everyone’s business, but the issue of energy and land is one where Canada is only an extreme example.  This point was raised by Gemma Lawrence of Creative Carbon Scotland.  Harry Giles, Environment Officer for Festivals Edinburgh noted that there are a significant number of applications for open-cast coal currently before the Scottish Government, as well as numerous applications for major renewables installations. All of these, for better or for worse, are driven by our addiction to cheap energy, and politicians commitment to “keep the lights on.”

Louis kept emphasising the need for a civic discourse, rather than throwing stones at each other from extreme positions. There was a sense in the room that this was an unusual position for an artist to take. Are we more used to artists aligning themselves with environmental campaigners, than trying to open up a centre ground that enables all parties to engage in the discourse?

Louis kept returning to the experiences of speaking with individuals who worked in the industry, electricians or truck drivers rather than corporate executives, and how they, when faced with an artists’ representation of the beautiful destruction, articulated their own conflicted views.

Although it wasn’t raised in the formal discussion, the idea of restorative justice was also present, and perhaps needs to be explored. Kristin Reimer, Louis’ partner, is currently in Scotland to research restorative justice programmes in Scottish schools. Restorative justice is broadly speaking an approach that seeks to address the needs of both the victims and the offenders. It provides a space in which offenders, including those who have committed the most serious crimes, can be confronted by their victims. It is not a space of stone-throwing or media manipulation.

Given that we are all implicated in the self-destructive culture of cheap energy (even if energy doesn’t necessarily seem cheap in Scotland at the moment) do we not need the means by which to face each other, and talk about the problems, not as a soft option, but as a way to see that we all benefit economically from cheap energy and we all need to change our ways.

ecoartscotland is a resource focused on art and ecology for artists, curators, critics, commissioners as well as scientists and policy makers. It includes ecoartscotland papers, a mix of discussions of works by artists and critical theoretical texts, and serves as a curatorial platform.
It has been established by Chris Fremantle, producer and research associate with On The Edge Research, Gray’s School of Art, The Robert Gordon University. Fremantle is a member of a number of international networks of artists, curators and others focused on art and ecology.
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Expressive Arts in Conflict Transformation & Peacebuilding, M.A. at the European Graduate School, Switzerland

Applications are currently being accepted for the M.A. program in Expressive Arts in Conflict Transformation & Peacebuilding (EXA-CT) at the European Graduate School in Saas Fee, Switzerland.  EXA-CT is a low residency master’s program completed over three summer sessions of three weeks each in Switzerland.   During non-residency periods, students complete an internship and write their master’s thesis.

EXA-CT’s unique emphasis on art practice, human rights, and peacebuilding in international settings provides students with the skills and experience to use art in the public sphere for social change.  Artists, humanitarians, therapists, conflict transformation professionals, peacebuilders and policymakers are encouraged to apply.

2012 Summer Session Dates in Saas-Fee, Switzerland

June 12 to July 4: Expressive arts, digital arts, and media
July 10 to August 1: Expressive arts in conflict transformation and peacebuilding

US Federal Government student loans, and limited scholarships from the European Graduate School, are available for eligible EXA-CT students.

Applications are due by April 30, 2012

Late applications will be accepted on a case-by case-basis.  For more information, please contact the Interim Program Director, Prof. Ellen Levine (ellen.levine@egs.edu), follow us on Facebook, or visit the European Graduate School’s website:expressivearts.egs.edu

Program Description

The EXA-CT M.A. is a three-year low residency summer program concentrating on the use of creative methods through the arts to address conflicts within teams, in communities, and across cultures. The EXA-CT program provides students with frameworks for merging the arts with conflict analysis interventions, restorative justice, trauma awareness and healing, mediation, humanitarian response, and research. EXA-CT’s emphasis on art practice, human rights, and peacebuilding in international settings provides students with the skills and experience to use art in public settings for social change.

Distinguished faculty in the fields of the expressive arts and conflict transformation provide instruction during three summer school sessions, with continued support and supervision throughout the year as students complete their internship, thesis, and community of practice.

Summer residency in Switzerland

Students spend three summer sessions in residence in the beautiful Alpine resort town Saas-Fee, Switzerland. Students needing additional prerequisites may complete the coursework over five summer sessions.  Each residential session is 21 days long.  During the first two summer residency periods, students follow courses on the principles and practice of both expressive arts and conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Within each course, students are challenged to experiment with the application of the arts in conflict transformation and peacebuilding paradigms, along with group discussions and reflective exercises. During the third summer session, students complete oral and written exams, and defend their master’s theses.

Sample courses include:

  • Principles and Practice of Expressive Arts: Aesthetic Responsibility in Action
  • Conflict Transformation and Arts-based Approaches to Peacebuilding
  • Community Arts: A Collective Response to Conflict and Crisis
  • Project Design and Implementation in the Field: A Multi-System Approach
  • Conflict and Crisis Intervention: Human-Rights Perspectives
  • Building Resilience in Refugee and Displaced Communities
  • Trauma and Resilience: Expressive Arts Perspectives
  • Biography as a Resource in Humanitarian Interventions
  • Professional Ethics In Community Based Interventions

Non-residency requirements

In between the summer residencies, EXA-CT students are expected to complete a prescribed self-study plan, an internship, and a master’s thesis supervised by an EXA-CT faculty member. Students also participate in the design and creation of the EXA-CT in an ACTION group project and meet in a virtual classroom to discuss assigned readings and videos.

To receive a full description of the EXA-CT program, please visit: expressivearts.egs.edu/academic-programs/masters-programs/master-of-arts-in-expressive-arts-conflict-transformation-and-peacebuilding

For additional information, please contact Prof. Ellen Levine, EXA-CT Interim Program Director: ellen.levine@egs.edu

European Graduate School
Arts, Health & Society Division
Alter Kehr 20
CH-3953 Leuk-Stadt
Switzerland
T + 41 27 474 99 17
F + 41 27 474 99 18
expressivearts.egs.edu

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