who we are
In a world grappling with evolving global conflict and widening disparities, performing arts occupies a very critical position. Exploring the interconnected realms of performing arts and peacebuilding, the Centre for Peace and Performing Arts takes on the global challenge of fostering peace across different levels through the powerful and mobile tools that the performing arts domain has to offer.
CPPA is at the crux of where the performing arts and peacebuilding domain intersect. CPPA explores and dives into the diverse and overlapping relationships of performing arts and peacebuilding.
CPPA engages in a dual approach, a bottom-up tactic to engage with the communities whereby performing art forms are explored in a creative way to further social cohesion and peacebuilding. On the other hand, CPPA also engages with the wider community, including art connoisseurs, diplomats, academicians, and more, to create a cohesive and more collaborative engagement/framework.
Beginning in 2021, CPPA has gone through a journey, from the Roma Peace Festival to expanding across six countries in Europe and furthermore engaging with a range of different artists and actors across borders. CPPA has experienced a trajectory that has spanned boundaries and cut across borders to unite communities. Based on deeper content and research, CPPA has heralded innovative, thematic areas from the ‘artful connection’ to the ‘harmony collaborations’ and the ‘peace festival.’ CPPA has endeavoured to explore the interconnectedness between academia, arts, and social spaces through each unique activity.
In 2024, the Peace Festival focused on the aspect of gender and its interconnectedness with the arts. CPPA, through ‘Nari,’ explored the dynamics of gender and the various art forms that are embedded in gender dynamics, exploring both the masculine and feminine and beyond. Another example of CPPA’s choreography is the human story focused on the Rohingya people—in their own voices, with their own music—which witnessed a collaboration with Rohingya musicians from the refugee camps. The latest choreography, Her Story, is an iteration where the story of women in Afghanistan was depicted through dance and interpretive monologues. Combining storytelling with creative music productions across different platforms is a core element of CPPA’s work. Alongside musical productions and events, CPPA also engages with the community. Examples range from engagement with Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee camp, to activities in the largest slums of India. Community engagement provides an opportunity for CPPA to expand the territory of performing arts, including dance, theatre and visual arts, to be used as mediums for bridging gaps, addressing psychosocial trauma, and furthering social cohesion.
Contributors: Baisali Mohanty and Dr. Karine LeBlanc