Indigenous peoples in Brazil have been fighting colonial conquest for centuries, trying to protect their lands, livelihoods and cosmovisions.

Under the double assault of a hostile government pushing for expansion of extractive industries in Indigenous territories and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, these struggles have only accelerated in recent years. Amid the tragedy of the pandemic, with death, mourning and the cowardly use of the virus as a tool to plunder rights, various forms of cure began to arise, which were found in the territories, hidden in the memories of the elderly. From sadness, the light of resistance is kindled, the power of recreation of the world. From these territories of art and war emerge different forms of resistance, narratives, constructions and reconstructions of worlds torn by conquest, colonialism and capitalism.

This free seminar brings together artists and academics to discuss Indigenous art and resistance and anti-colonial ecologies that seek another horizon of conviviality of differences and more just and egalitarian ways of living.

This is a hybrid event, accessible via a livestream from our Facebook page.

Seminar Details

Location: University of Sussex Campus, Jubilee Building (Room G30), 4-6pm. No need to sign up.

Introduction – Persephone Pearl (ONCA)

Session 1: ‘From atmospheres of violence towards another sky’ – Dr Mary Menton (Research Lead, Not1More;  Research Associate, School of Global Studies)

Session 2: ‘Reclaiming imaginaries and enchanting horizons: anti-colonial ecologies, art and resistance in Brazil’ – Dr Felipe Milanez (Professor at Institute of Humanities, Arts and Sciences, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil)

Session 3: ‘Memories of the future: art, mourning and struggle’ – Arissana Pataxó (Indigenous artist; Phd student at Federal University of Bahia; teacher at Indigenous College of Coroa Vermelha, Brazil)

Chairs: Dr Mika Peck (School of Life Sciences) and Dr Evan Killick (School of Global Studies)

This seminar is co-hosted by ONCA and the Sussex Sustainability Research Programme (SSRP) and forms part of the University of Sussex Biodiversity Week taking place 25-29 April 2022 and coinciding with the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) 2022.

For further information about the topic of this event, visit the ‘Another Sky Project’ and the SSRP-funded project ‘Indigenous visions for rights-based approaches to sustainability’ websites.