In collaboration with

New World Academy (NWA) is an educational platform that invites stateless political organizations to exchange with artists and students on the role of art and culture in political struggle. It is established by artist Jonas Staal in collaboration with BAK, and functions as a department of the New World Summit, an artistic and political organization dedicated to developing parliaments for organizations banned from democracy. This fourth session of NWA, titled The Art of Creating a State, centers on the role of art in representing new, unacknowledged “stateless states.”

The National Liberation Movement of Azawad (MNLA) consists of an alliance of peoples from the Sahel and Sahara regions—Tuareg, Songhai, Fula, and Arabs—who collectively demand the northern part of Mali to become their independent, multiethnic, and multireligious state of Azawad. This new country is one and a half times the state of France, with approximately 1.3 million inhabitants, yet it is not recognized by any other country in the world. The history of the Azawadian revolutionary movement lies in the resistance against the French-Sudanese colony and the foundation of the French-backed state of Mali in 1960. To date, four armed rebellions have taken place since the establishment of the Malian state, the last one being in 2012. The role of art, literature, and music has been crucial in maintaining visibility and representing the stateless state of Azawad.

During the three days of NWA, participants are challenged to explore the relation between art and political representation, and to develop proposals for new models of representation of unacknowledged states such as Azawad.

The teachers participating in this session are Moussa Ag Assarid (writer and European representative of the MNLA) and Mazou Ibrahim Touré (artist, Artists Association of Azawad). The work group coordinators are Remco van Bladel (graphic designer, Amsterdam), Rob Schröder (filmmaker, Amsterdam), Gabriëlle Provaas (filmmaker, Amsterdam), and Iva Petkovic (representative of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation, UNPO).

New World Academy #4: The Art of Creating a State is closed with a public forum on Sunday 19 October 2014.

Program

education program

06.09.–12.10.2014

New World Embassy: Azawad

education program

09.09.2014 19.00 hrs

New World Embassy: Azawad

education program

19.10.2014 17.00 hrs

The Art of Creating a State

film screening

05.05.2015

Azawad: The Art of Creating a State