**Private View: 27th October, 6 pm**
Open Daily: 28 Oct - 8th Nov
Mon - Sat. 10:00hrs – 8:00 pm
Sunday 10:00hrs – 3:00 pm

For two weeks during October and November 2023, an international art exhibition and a series of public talks arrived at the Centrespace Gallery in Bristol to draw attention to the problem of human disappearance. A powerful series of 75 original works by the Mexican abstract painter Chantal Meza, will be showcased, which will provide an evocative journey and testimony on the violence. Through a complimentary series of free public talks and panel discussions from renowned authorities, visitors will have the opportunity to learn and discuss a broad set of issues from enforced disappearance, the holocaust, and slavery, along with the challenges of finding the missing in natural disasters.

The exhibition is part of the State of Disappearance project, which was conceived in 2017. It is co-directed by Professor Brad Evans (Director of the Centre for the Study of Violence, University of Bath) and Visual Artist Chantal Meza. This project brings together artists with academic communities, policymakers and advocacy groups in engaged public ways. Mindful of this, the State of Disappearance exhibition aims to highlight the ongoing problem of human denial, while seeking to bring attention to the disappearance of history, whose plight shouldn’t be forgotten.

SPONSORS & PARTNERS:

The State of Disappearance Art Exhibition is supported by Arts Council England National Lottery; the Centre for the Study of Violence, University of Bath; ESRC Festival of Social Sciences; the Global Insecurities Centre, University of Bristol; the Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath; the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame; and Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. It is also partnered with Bristol Ideas; Locate International; Trebuchet Art Magazine; and The Philosopher.

EVENTS:

28th Oct: 4 pm - 6 pm

Blackness, Knowledge, Stories & the Disappeared

A public talk by Dr. Olivia Umurerwa Rutazibwa who is an Assistant Professor at the London School of Economics, United Kingdom.

31st Oct: 6 pm - 8 pm

Terrorism, Victims and Disappearance

A public conversation with Richard English who is Director of the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen's University Belfast.

1st Nov: 6 pm - 8 pm

Is there Justice for the Disappeared?

A public panel with Professor Tim Edmunds (Director of the Global Insecurities Centre, University of Bristol); Dr Roddy Brett (University of Bristol); Professor Josefina Echavarria Alvarez (Director of Peace Accords Matrix, Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame); Dr. Andrea Purdekova (University of Bath) & Dr. Lina Malagon (University of Wales).

2nd Nov: 6 pm - 8 pm

Engaging with Los Desaparecidos and their loved ones in Mexico

A public talk by Dr. Arely Cruz-Santiago who is a research fellow based in the Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology Department at the University of Exeter, UK.

3rd Nov: 6 pm - 8 pm

Genocidal disappearance/Disappearing genocide: Holocaust histories, geographies and memories

A public talk by Tim Cole who is Professor of Social History at the University of Bristol.

4th Nov: 4 pm - 6 pm

Forensic Uncertainty and Ambiguous Loss

A public talk by Lucy Easthope who is Professor in Practice of Risk and Hazard at the University of Durham and Honorary Professor in Mass Fatalities and Pandemics at the Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath.

6th Nov: 6 pm - 8 pm

Section 28 and me - A discursive Salon

A public event hosted by Tom Marshman an artist based in Bristol with 25 years of experience, he has produced projects, across many mediums, including - museum audio-tours, theatre & cabaret. An overarching theme of his work is that of the outsider & their story, particularly regarding the LGBTQ+ experience, stories that have been omitted through archival silence.

8th Nov: 6 pm - 8 pm

Escape from Disappearance

A public panel hosted by the Universities of Sanctuary featuring Timo Kivimäki who is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Bath & Habib Wardak Sanctuary Scholar at the University of Bath and a civil society activist in his home country - Afghanistan and a refugee in the United Kingdom.