Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival
Friday 11 to Sunday 20 October 2024
“In Solidarity: An International Celebration of Arts and Human Rights”
The Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival is an annual, international festival organised by Smashing Times International Centre for the Arts and Equality and Front Line Defenders, a Dublin-based international organisation working to improve the security and protection of human rights defenders at risk. It is held in partnership with Fighting Words, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, National Women’s Council of Ireland, Trócaire, Poetry Ireland, and Irish PEN. This year’s festival runs from 11 – 20 October, with the theme ‘In Solidarity: An International Celebration of Arts and Human Rights’.
The festival aims to promote human rights and justice for all, and the vision of a world where all people are treated equally, with dignity and respect – linking the arts to civil society, active citizenship and politics. The extraordinary work of human rights defenders in Ireland and around the world, past and present, and the role of the arts in promoting human rights will be showcased and highlighted at the festival, aiming to celebrate and unite community connections, artists, human rights organisations and human rights defenders.
The festival will showcase world-class and diverse acts, artists and speakers, including up-and-coming performers. It brings arts and human rights together through interdisciplinary events which include workshops, theatre performances, musical performances, visual arts, exhibitions, film screenings, panel discussions, poetry and literature events, historical memory performances, live art, digital installations, and more.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL FESTIVAL PROGRAMME AND REGISTRATION
Our events
Open Mic Night: October 17 @ 7:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Join us for a night of poetry and music related to themes of solidarity, human rights and social justice. We will have special guests featuring curated poetry and music for the night, which will be announced closer to the event and the floor is also open for anyone who would like to sign up to perform. If you are interested in performing, please send an email with subject line ‘’open mic sign up’’ to events@frontlinedefenders.org
Memorial Monologues: October 18 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
The Path of Memory by Mary Moynihan is adapted from the words of four brave and inspirational human rights defenders from around the world who were murdered because of their peaceful work defending the rights of others. Created as a promenade, ‘walk-in-the-park’ show with theatre, poetry and music, the performance features four of the stories of human rights defenders who are commemorated at the Memorial to Human Rights Defenders in the Iveagh Gardens. They are Lasantha Wickrematunge, journalist, Sri Lanka; Natalya Estemirova, journalist and human rights defender, Chechnya; Raed Fares, journalist and activist, Syria and Bety Cariño, activist and women’s rights defender, Mexico.
Guardians of the Land: The Colombia Migrant Film Festival Launch: October 16 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm IST
Join us for the launch of the Colombia Migrant Film Festival, where we will be screening a short documentary. This year, we welcome the film festival in its Environmental and Migrant Justice edition, an edition that recognizes the importance of speaking with urgency about the direct relationship between environmental impacts and migration. This is the year in which migrants, exiles, refugees and artists, positioning themselves from a perspective of the global south, reaffirm their connection with the territory and recognize that to remember the armed conflict in Colombia is to remember nature itself: victim, scenario and instrument for war.
“Where should they go?” Migrants and Refugee rights Panel Discussion: October 20 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm IST
“Where Should They Go?” Migrants and Refugees’ Rights is a shared discussion on Migrants and Refugees rights taking place onsite at The Ireland Institute, 27 Pearse Street, Dublin 2 on Sunday 20 October at 4pm. The event is organised by Front Line Defenders with guest speakers including Haneen Boshosha, a woman human rights defender from Libya; Ieva Raubiško, a woman human rights defender from Latvia and Lorena Zambrano, a woman human rights defender from Chile. During this panel, speakers look at the challenges migrants and refugees face around the world but also what their strategies are to build responses and alternatives.
The festival is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland. The artistic curator for the festival is Mary Moynihan, Artistic Director of Smashing Times; and the human rights curator is Laura O’Leary, International Events and Promotions Coordinator at Front Line Defenders. The festival will be a hybrid programme delivered over 10 days and hosts an exciting blend of events happening in-person and online, featuring Irish and international artists and guest speakers. There will be something for everyone interested in the arts for equality, human rights and diversity, reaching audiences locally, nationally, and internationally.
Join us to illuminate stories of courage and inspiration and shine a light on stories of ordinary people who stand up for human rights and impact on the lives of others. We will bear witness to, and remember the past, explore the present and celebrate the future linked to equality and rights for all.
Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival Ambassadors 2024
Jessica Traynor
Poet, essayist, librettist, and poetry editor at Banshee, 2023 Arts Council Writer in Residence in Galway University.
MayKay
Singer, songwriter, TV presenter, voiceover artist.
Senator Lynn Ruane
Independent Irish politician, published author and writer, podcaster, presenter.
