Symposium: On the Limits of the Law and People’s Tribunals

Symposium

The symposium is on occasion of the exhibition Edgelanders: Amsterdam on Trial / Part III: The Witnesses. Through the multi-part project, artists Ehsan Fardjadniya and Raul Balai are building material for a people’s tribunal against the city of Amsterdam in relation to the right to housing for undocumented people.

During the symposium we ask a set of questions together through the lenses of different projects including Edgelanders: If the state fails to act in accordance with justice and human rights, where do we (documented and undocumented) seek justice? Why is the state not acting in accordance with the justice systems put in place? And what are the limits of law? Where do we go for truth-telling and reconciliation? How can we make the state accountable? How can people's tribunals effect broader social and political change, including policy reforms, advocacy campaigns, and grassroots mobilisation? How can we center the voices of the ones who experience oppression in the processes of justice?

Tribunals

Artists have been engaging with the form of People’s Tribunals in different ways, as art works, whether processual or performative but also as active members of tribunals. There is an array of forms of People’s Tribunals, this gathering is geared towards learning from each other”s experiences and sharing with the audience various ways of engaging art in the work of social justice. It is primarily an assembly to help Raul and Ehsan think through the process towards the tribunal, and open a discussion about this form of justice with artists and the general public.

Participants include lawyers Pim Fischer and Domenica Ghidei, artist Robin Vanbesien (with his recent project Hold on to her) and Gable Roelofsen (The Shell Trials).

The symposium will take place at de Appel and Cinetol.