De Pont Talks x Hector Aristizábal
Imagining Peace
Sunday 1 December, 14.00h
On Sunday 1 December, Colombian theatre-maker, psychotherapist and human rights activist Hector Aristizábal will be coming to De Pont. In his work, he reveals how healing and transformative theatre, and art in general, can be. As part of the exhibition War and Peace: A Poetics of Gesture by Colombian artist Beatriz González, Aristizábal will open a conversation with the audience about the power of imagination in processing collective trauma.González conveys deep emotions in her paintings through figures and gestures. Resilience and storytelling, as found in González's work, are also central to Aristizábal's practice. He managed to turn his own experiences - growing up in poverty and undergoing torture and death threats - into positivity and uses theatre techniques to help victims of violence. He also provides more context about the social situation in Colombia: a central theme in González's work.
Aristizábal was born in 1960 in Medellín, Colombia, at the time the most dangerous city in the world. He grew up in poverty, but managed to overcome his circumstances and completed studies in theatre and psychology. After surviving a civil war and arrests, violence and death threats forced him to flee to the United States in 1989. His own experiences motivated him to start working with war victims, prisoners and migrant families. But also with ex-guerilla fighters and members of the military. He applies this therapeutic method all over the world and especially in areas of conflict such as Afghanistan, Ukraine and Palestine.
Workshop
After the talk at De Pont, there will be the opportunity to take part in a workshop, for those wishing to experience the methods employed by Aristizábal. This takes place in the context of González's poignant depictions of violence, migration and loss. Through storytelling and with theatrical techniques, he creates space for shared experiences, dialogue and imagination - and thus new possibilities for peace.
Aristizábal invites you to explore González's visual poetry together with his innovative approach. Visual art and performance art come together, with a powerful message about the need for peace and healing in the world of today.
Get a sneak preview here in Aristizábal's TedTalk.
Reservations for the talk are free of charge but compulsory. Entrance tickets are not included. The language of the talk and workshop is English.
Programme:
Start talk: 14.00h in auditorium
Start workshop (optional): approx. 15.00h
End of workshop: approx. 16.30h
Museum closes: 17.00h