Art & Reconciliation
An interdisciplinary study of reconciliation and the role of the arts in reconciliation work, focused on Bosnia and Herzegovina.
2017–2020 · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Research Fellow (University of the Arts London, 2017–19), then Research Associate (King’s College London, 2019–20) · King’s College London, London School of Economics and University of the Arts London · Funded by the AHRC (Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research) and the Global Challenges Research Fund · Partners: Post-Conflict Research Centre, History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Art & Reconciliation exhibitions and workshops at The History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Art & Reconciliation: Conflict, Culture and Community investigated the concept and practice of reconciliation, and the potential of the arts to contribute to it, from inter-communal dialogue to remembrance, forgetting and forgiving. Reconciliation is widely invoked after conflict, but what it means in practice, and how the arts might support it, is far less understood.
My research mapped the contemporary field of arts and reconciliation practice, supported the design and delivery of commissioned arts projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and developed tools and frameworks for evaluating them. With colleagues, I developed a principles-based approach to evaluating reconciliation, which shifts the focus from fixed outcomes to the values and processes that make reconciliation work meaningful. The research also examined what creative approaches to transitional justice achieve, and how artists in Bosnia and Herzegovina themselves reckon with the past. These findings continue to inform work in the field.
The project led directly to Izazov! (Changing the Story), a participatory film project with young activists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which I led as Principal Investigator. It was funded through the Large Grant scheme of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) under the Conflict Theme of the Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (PaCCS) and through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and various follow on and impact grants.
Outputs
Academic
Fairey, T. and Kerr, R. (2020). ‘What Works? Creative Approaches to Transitional Justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina’. International Journal of Transitional Justice.
Redwood, H., Fairey, T. and Kerr, R. (2025). ‘Reckoning with Reconciliation: Art and Artists in Bosnia and Herzegovina’. International Journal of Transitional Justice.
Redwood, H., Fairey, T. and Hasić, J. (2022). ‘Hybrid Peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina’. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development.
Fairey, T. (2018). Participatory Arts and Peace-building: Embodying and Challenging Reconciliation. In Participatory Arts for Invisible Communities: PAIC; Irena Sertić (ed) (pp. 204–214). Omnimedia.
Reports and working papers
Fairey, T., Kerr, R., Petrović, J. and Gow, J. (2020). New Bearings in the Evaluation of Post-Conflict Reconciliation: A Principles-Based Approach. King’s College London.
Fairey, T. (2019). Evaluation Report: Balkans Diskurs Youth Correspondents Programme, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Art & Reconciliation Working Paper Series.
Fairey, T. (2017). The Arts in Peace-Building and Reconciliation: Mapping Practice. Art & Reconciliation Working Paper Series.