The Art of Resistance

Have you ever wondered how revolutions start? Does it sound weird to you that art can be the real leader of a movement? Or, again, are you an artist wanting to change the world? During this course, drawing on disparate artistic techniques from circus to music, poetry to painting, we will try to understand how art and creativity can become a vehicle for political action. Each lesson revolves around a revolutionary Romani artist, such as the Lions of Breda Solini, Theresa Seibel, Helios Gomez, Cejia Stojka, Bronislawa Wajs and Raymond Gureme, and the ultimate goal will be to create an artistic production focused on the concept of “resistance”, to perform during the last day. Each lesson will be divided into 30 minutes of theory and 60 minutes of activity focused around creating our own performance (no previous artistic skills needed). In the first lesson, we’ll discuss the concept of resistance in the history of art, as well as the day’s artist, and get to know each other through various theatre techniques. For the second lesson, we’ll view the dance styles of Romani women, and for the third, we’ll discuss the visual arts and their role in street culture. In the fourth lesson, we’ll discuss art born from the repression of fascism and the role of art in transforming ‘bloody tears into pearls’. In the fifth lesson, we’ll see how music guided revolutionary movements, and in the last lesson, we’ll look at the art and feminism of modern circuses. At the end, we’ll take our performance on stage!

Morena Pedriali

Morena comes from a traditional Romani circus family. She grew up immersed in performing art and, over time, specialized in writing, theatre and corporeal circus arts. Around the age of 14 she decided to combine art with politics, building an informal theatre company made up of people from different minorities and bringing shows on social issues to the streets of Northern Italy. Morena studied music for 15 years and took part in various literary competitions, writing a graphic novel, „Perché non dormi?“ („Why don’t you sleep?“), in 2018. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in the Faculty of Languages, Markets and Cultures of Asia at Bologna University, specializing in Middle Eastern cultures. She has been active for about 10 years in the fight against antigypsyism in Italy, organizing demonstrations, campaigns, emergency support fundraisers, sit-ins and cultural events in support of the Romani community. She worked for 10 years at Amnesty International, is part of the communication team of the civic organisation Movimento Kethane, and was invited to the European Parliament in 2022 to speak about her activism with the Romani youth organisation Phiren Amenca.

Session D

AI in Particle Physics

Oliver Matonoha

Biodiversity

Samuel Paulini

Climate Crisis: Challenges and Solutions

Beniamin Strzelecki

Finance and Politics

David Němeček

History

Emma Nabi-Bourgois

International Investment Law

Maroš Hodor

Medicine and science

Veronika Holubová

Moral Philosophy

Mojmir Stehlik

Neuroscience of Stress and Neurodiversity

Liza Mrackova

Rapid Prototyping & Human Centered Design

Jakub Zálešák

Sleep course 101

Monika Václavková

Sociology of Gender and Masculinities

Ecem Nazlı Üçok

Sound, music and science

Sol Johansen

The Art of Resistance

Morena Pedriali

Visit your inner world

Petro Rusanienko