R unning within ISI’s World Conference on Statelessness was the CANCELLED Arts Programme, devised by Empathy & Risk as a cocurated, artist led, interdisciplinary initiative. The project was curated in collaboration with Creative Court and involved established and emerging practitioners willing to critically reflect on political challenges like inclusion/exclusion and the role of their art practices within society. The CANCELLED Arts Programme featured the work of over 70 artists, bringing together the most comprehensive global body of artwork relating to statelessness ever assembled. A number of new works were produced especially for the Conference through a process of co-creation by artists who were ‘matched’ by ISI with activists, advocates and academics working in different countries and contexts. The CANCELLED Arts Programme was curated such that Conference participants encountered artwork on statelessness that was both seminal as well as ephemeral, archival as well as contemporary. Participants were introduced not just to new artwork but also offered insights into the process behind the creation of the work. There were opportunities for activists and artists to engage with each other on panels and for conference participants to understand the work of artists, working on issues of statelessness. Dialogues were structured to help encourage artists and activists to engage deeper with each other’s work – to draw actively from each other’s practice and experience, so that we may all be enriched by new perspectives into common challenges. 41

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