An exhibition sharing co-created stories of forced disappearance in Colombia, exploring memory, justice and the search for loved ones.

What does it mean to search for someone who has disappeared when their absence continues to shape everyday life?

This public event launches ‘Stories That Bring Us Together: Disappeared Persons in the Context of the Colombian Armed Conflict’, an exhibition exploring the human, social and political dimensions of forced disappearance in Colombia through co-created audiovisual stories developed with communities in Caquetá.

Drawing on the Transmedia for Transitional Justice (T4TJ) project, the exhibition brings together film, testimony, photographs, sound, maps and community storytelling to explore how families and communities continue to search for disappeared people and to demand truth, recognition, dignity and justice.

Rather than presenting forced disappearance only through statistics or as an event belonging to the past, the exhibition explores disappearance as an ongoing harm that continues to affect families, communities, territories and public memory. Particular attention is given to the role of grassroots organisations and communities as producers of knowledge, memory and creative practices through which experiences of armed conflict can be narrated and communicated.

The event will begin with a presentation by Professor Claire Taylor, Gilmour Chair of Spanish and Professor in Hispanic Studies at the University of Liverpool, whose research includes memory studies, Latin American culture and digital culture. Professor Taylor will reflect on the role and importance of constructing narratives of memory in societies affected by conflict and violence, with particular attention to the contribution of grassroots initiatives to processes of remembering and memorialisation.

The second part of the event will bring audiences into direct conversation with members of the Maravilla Collective from the Escuela Audiovisual de Belén de los Andaquíes in Caquetá, Colombia, who will join the event live online from Colombia. They will introduce the project and share the processes through which the audiovisual stories at the centre of the exhibition have been co-created with communities affected by armed conflict.

The event will provide opportunities for questions and discussion with both Professor Taylor and the Colombian collaborators, followed by refreshments and informal conversation.

The exhibition creates a dialogue around memory, testimony, absence, human rights and social responsibility. It does not seek to equate the Colombian armed conflict with the Holocaust; instead, its location at Holocaust Centre North provides a space for reflecting on how societies, communities, universities and cultural institutions respond ethically to experiences of violence, loss and the continuing demands for truth, dignity and non-repetition.

Event Highlights:

Expert perspective on memory and post-conflict societies: Professor Claire Taylor from the University of Liverpool will discuss the construction of memory narratives following conflict and violence and the importance of grassroots initiatives in these processes.

Live participation from Colombia: Members of the Maravilla Collective at the Escuela Audiovisual de Belén de los Andaquíes will join online from Caquetá, Colombia, to discuss their experiences of co-creating audiovisual stories with local communities.

Co-created stories from communities affected by armed conflict: Discover audiovisual stories exploring forced disappearance, memory, search, dignity, resilience, justice and community.

Direct discussion with speakers and project collaborators: Two dedicated Q&A sessions will give members of the audience an opportunity to engage with Professor Taylor and the Colombian project partners.

Accessible introduction: No previous knowledge of Colombia, transitional justice or memory studies is required.

Refreshments: Tea and coffee will be available during the final part of the event, providing an opportunity for informal conversation and further engagement with the exhibition.

Description supplied by the event organiser.