Anida Yoeu Ali becomes a fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar in Salzburg, Austria

As an invited fellow, IAS faculty member Anida Yoeu Ali gave the opening artist talk for the Salzburg Global Seminar 573 Session on The Art of Resilience: Creativity, Courage and Renewal. The Salzburg Global Seminar is a seventy year old think tank engaged in designing, facilitating and hosting international strategic convening and multi-year programs to tackle critical issues in education, health, environment, economics, governance, peace-building and more. The mission of the Salzburg Global Seminar is to challenge current and future leaders to solve issues of global concern. The goal of this particular session was to connect path-breaking efforts between culture, the arts, and resilience and to identify how creative practitioners can inspire individuals and communities to confront the unexpected and define their own futures.

During the five-day session held in Salzburg, Austria from Feb 7-12, 2017, Ali contributed to the writing and development of the “Migrant Artist Manifesto” as part of her session’s focus on “Refugees, Migration and Integration.” Ali and participating fellows declare in their manifesto, ”The freedom of creative expression is a fundamental right for all displaced people.” The manifesto outlines fundamental principles to address are artistic aesthetics and praxis, narratives of integration and impact, and deepening public discourse on identities and perceptions of displacement. Fellows in this session advocated for an arts-based policy framework in which the arts creates opportunities for displaced artists to curate and be curated across regional and international platforms, reaching new diverse audiences. The manifesto defines “displaced artists” not as merely subjects, but as both creators and collaborators. Lastly, Ali’s session participants proposed a research and mapping exercise in collaboration with a global network of arts councils, a dedicated Salzburg Global Seminar session to this very issue, and pilot displaced artist projects emanating from the work of fellows.