Conference: "radius of art" Welcoming and Introduction

Welcome and IntroductionBarbara Unmüßig (President Heinrich Böll Foundation)Dirk Scheelje (Board Member Heinrich Böll Foundation Schleswig-Holstein)andPlenary Session: Potentials of arts and culture for social transformationWhat are the potentials of arts and culture for social transformation? Does empowering individuals really increase their social and political participation and therefore lead to participatory processes of change? Do the roles of artists and their position in society change when they explicitly refer to societal or political issues? Does the artist become the often quoted “perfect change agent”? How to deal with the difficulties concerning the measurability and evaluation of artistic projects realised in a social and political context? The panel broaches the central issues of “Art for Social Transformation”.Speakers:Basma El Husseiny (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy, Cairo, Egypt)Antanas Mockus (Former mayor of Bogota, Colombia)Alessandro Petti (Decolonizing Architecture Art Residence (DAAR), Bethlehem, Palestine)Michelangelo Pistoletto (Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, Italy)Bisi Silva (Center for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Nigeria)Moderator:Wolfgang Schneider (Department of Cultural Policy, University of Hildesheim, Germany)