Expanding Beyond Genocide: Call for Submissions

Background

Beyond Genocide is a pioneering visual art opus that develops thematic currents of narration examining a pan-historic chronology and geography of mass atrocity events. Advancing awareness and scholarship at the intersection of genocide and the arts contributes critically to a deeper understanding of human behavior, promoting empathy and social change, and serves as a powerful tool for preventing future atrocities. Beyond Genocide is singularly structured to shed light on the many facets of inquiry and critical reflection of pivotal mass atrocities around the globe and throughout history where traditional academic studies may not capture.

New Vision

In 2024, Beyond Genocide received generous annual funding to expand and complete the series through a juried “call-for-art“. Individual commissioned pieces will be awarded annually, adding to and conversing with the existing works, with the project set for completion within an 8-year time frame.

Project organizer Amy Fagin is working with an Arts Awards Advisory Council with expertise in genocide studies, art expression, exhibition practices, communications, and outreach and we are in the first stages of drafting the structure of the jury pool, participating institutions, and finalizing the list of case studies representing the artworks to be added to the existing exhibition.

Submission window for the first contest opens December 1st, 2024. 

Project Structure & Theme

The competition will integrate new works that respond to and are in concert with an interactive exhibition experience with the original series. The aim is to serve as a focal point for artistic representation in examining each case study listed below, maintaining the highest standards of artistic excellence and public engagement.

Judging

A panel of jurors will award commissions based on artistic merit, adherence to the theme, the relationship to previous works in the series, technical skill and service to the objective of “thinking through art.”

Exhibition & Publicity

An integral part of the competition is the exhibition and public recognition of the awardee’s work. The award ceremony will coincide with an exhibition opening.

Future competitions will be held either twice a year or annually, focusing on the proposed following case studies (in alphabetical order as per the original 18 artworks):

• Palestine / Israel
• Rohingya / Myanmar
• Rwanda / Burundi
• Soviet Union under Stalin
• Sudan
• Uganda
• Yezidi
• Yugoslavia (former)

For the past year, Amy Fagin has been working steadily with The Arthur V. Mauro Institute for Peace and Justice at St. Paul’s College, University of Manitoba, toward expanded curatorial content for Beyond Genocide with updated gallery texts and curriculum pilot programming with instructional material designed for secondary and post-secondary classrooms.

In addition, renovations are underway at The Mauro Institute for a permanent installation of Beyond Genocide within a state-of-the-art “hybrid room” to facilitate ongoing education / enrichment which advances knowledge and scholarship through the intersection of genocide and the arts. The series was acquired expressly at the Mauro Institute as a teaching tool to inaugurate the central objective of creating a “Memory Space” facility.

In the coming years, this expansion Beyond Genocide will establish an opportunity for multiple permanent exhibition locations (as the current series is designed as archival quality digital reproductions of the original watercolors), and from which a schedule of traveling exhibitions will be organized nationally and internationally.

Dr. Melanie O’Brien is an Associate Professor of International Law at UWA Law School and President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. Recognized for her expertise in international criminal law, her work on forced marriage has been cited by the International Criminal Court, where she has also served as an amica curiae. Dr. O’Brien has advised multiple UN bodies, conducted research across six continents, and is frequently consulted by global media. Her publications include Criminalising Peacekeepers (2017) and From Discrimination to Death (2022). She has held visiting roles at UMN, Sydney Jewish Museum, and the University of Loughborough.