Famanistot:
Art over Darkness
An initiative to promote creative expression in pursuit of peace and collective humanity.
Are you an artist or scholar generating creative expression that seeks to transcend war and repressive contexts? Are you interested in elevating art over darkness?
“Somehow, in conditions of mental and physical torture and deprivation, songs were continually written and sung.
Here is the quintessential example of spiritual resistance.
Singing could not influence the course of the war in any way.
In addition, it was not necessary for survival. On the contrary, writing and singing took valuable time and energy.
And yet we know that singing was a regular activity in these highly irregular circumstances.”
– E. R. Adler, No Raisins, No Almonds:
Our Why
Creating art in “hell” - in war - best exemplifies humanity’s unconquerable core spirit. Such creative expression is the greatest act of spiritual and artistic transcendence. There is no greater triumph than that of joy.
Whether performed in large clandestine gatherings, among strangers, friends, families, or alone, music and art aim to negate the effects of callous circumstances, to affirm one’s humanity under inhuman conditions, to nourish and uplift spiritual resistance, imagination, and ingenuity.
During one of history’s worst periods of carnage, the nadir of World War II and the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of millions, for their faith or ideology, no regime, political machination, nor mountains of ammunition could destroy human spirits buoyed by music and theater. Even in the most unlikely of places - Nazi death camps - survivors spoke of singing as a form of resistance and transcendence.
Music and singing embody a history and tradition of collective strength and social cohesion.
Musical genres have served as protest, preservation, and hope-making over the years and today – in spirituals of enslaved Africans, in Nazi-era Ghetto satirical musicals, in the violinists, cellists, and pianists playing amidst recent war ruins in Gaza, Syria, and Ukraine.
Our How
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We spotlight artistic expression produced in contexts of armed conflict, war, systemic social or political repression and that seeks to uplift the human spirit and bring people together.
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We aim to support such creatives and scholars by providing them with small grants and artistic and professional networking.
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We gather and promote stories and research about "art over darkness" and advocate for recognition and support of artistic endeavors as basic humanitartian needs and critical pathways for dialogue, bridge-forming, and peace ethos.
A non-profit initiative to promote creative expression in pursuit of peace, equality, and humanity.
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