Tuesday 7th September - 19.00 - 21.30
Location on historic site - in the hall church

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was founded in 1995, as part of a restorative justice movement at the end of apartheid in South Africa. Following in those historic footsteps, Ndiritu's project at Kunsthal Gent will attempt to create a space in which difficult subjects can be discussed in a safe manner. Without victim blaming or punishment, and therefore allowing a type of 'townhall meeting' in which local residents and other interested parties can hear from each other on political subjects in a therapeutic and playful manner.

In her ‘healing’ performance Grace Ndiritu will use meditation, letter writing and word-play to collectively unpack what the Truth and Reconciliation process means in the context of the ongoing dispute over the Caermersklooster site.

This performance will then be contextualized within the larger framework of Ndiritu’s ongoing research on Indigenous and ecological communities in the Global South, so that new ideas of custodianship of land and building, and the private and public use of them can be brought to Ghent, where they are also needed.

The performance will involve participants who will activate a specially commissioned textile installation. The woven carpet incorporates an iconic image from ​the Aboriginal Land Rights movement in 1970s Australia. Now in 2021, it will create a safe space and be the stage for Ndiritu’s performance upon which academics, politicians, artists, activists, students, and the public will gather and discuss How to Live Together?

20 participants + 5 standby for dropouts
Participants must sign up in advance (link on top)

This event is part of the programme GHENT: HOW TO LIVE TOGETHER - a season of truth and reconciliation, 7 September - 10 December 2021.
Grace Ndiritu, Jubilee, Kunsthal Gent Development Programme.