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Photography to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence

ExpoDeviche
The photos on display by Oriana Eliçabe, produced by the International Catalan Institute for Peace (ICIP) and on loan at the UAB, illustrate how people of such different origins, lifestyles and beliefs as those who gathered in the Gezi Park in Istanbul in 2013 can put aside their differences and unite in protest against an unjust situation.

13/10/2016

The author Oriana Eliçabe is a documentary photographer and cultural agitator who promotes a critical attitude towards the contemporary uses of photography and its relation to social reality.

The transformative power of art is a photo exhibition by Oriana Eliçabe, produced by the Institut Català Internacional per la Pau (ICIP) and loaned to the UAB. The exhibition aims to promote the culture of peace and nonviolence and give visibility to an event in which nonviolence, creativity and solidarity strengthened social protests and created unexpected synergies.

Through the story of the events that took place in Istanbul during 2013, the exhibition illustrates how people of completely different backgrounds, culture, lifestyles and beliefs gathered in Gezi Park setting aside their differences and joined together in a non-violent protest against a situation they considered to be unfair. Kurdish, Kemalists, Armenians, lay people, Muslims, activists from the LGBTI movement, Galatasaray and Besiktas fans and many other groups overcame old antagonisms, stereotypes and mutual mistrust in several peaceful and creative protests.
 
The exhibition will be on show at the UAB from 11 October to 4 November in the Plaça del Coneixement.
 
The author, Oriana Eliçabe (Argentina, 1972), is a photographer, documentary maker and cultural agitator. She is a member of Enmedio, a group that focuses on the combination of art and social activism. From there Eliçabe runs the TAF!, a photography workshop about urban intervention that encourages people to have a questioning attitude toward the contemporary uses of photography and its relation to social reality.