REstART >> Repair

Anna Maria Bordin is a piano professor at the music conservatory of Genova and Grazia Mannozzi is a professor in criminal law and restorative justice at the University of Insubria in Como. Together, they propose a piano concert on the classics of Beethoven followed by some reflections on the links between restorative justice and arts. The year 2020, in fact, marks (also!) the 250 years since Beethoven’s birth. The pre-recorded piano concert was followed by a talk online.

Gema Varona is a professor in victimology at the Basque Institute of Criminology. Using the art of bookbinding as metaphor for repairing and finding new ways for living together, Gema  and her mother María Ascensión Martínez (“Chón”), bookbinder and historian, have created a book out of different pieces crafted in paper and cloth by participants of restorative justice programs in cases of terrorism in the Basque Country. In a short video, they explain in few words the metaphor of bookbinding in relation to restorative justice while showing the book and its content.

Artist/ environmental researcher and activist Maria Lucia Cruz Correia has a new project, interesting for anyone working on restorative environmental justice issues. The "Voice of nature Kinstitute" is a fictional institute dedicated to rights of nature, restorative justice and ecocide. During the REstART Festival, Maria Lucia shared with us her projects. 

The film follows the restorative justice journey of Kathleen Pequeño. In the film, Kathleen travels several times to Germany to engage in dialogue with former members of the Red Army Faction, a violent leftist group responsible for her brother’s murder. The film was available during the entire REstART week.  On 3 December, we met with Kathleen and the film director on Zoom: the conversation has been recorded.

Marian Liebmann is an art therapist and restorative justice facilitator, member of the restorative city project “Restorative Bristol”. She proposed two presentations of pictures of reparation art works and pictures done by offenders showing empathy with victims. Also she delivered a virtual workshop on comic strips (normally with young offenders) for storytelling and she joined a talk with two other artists.

Viviana Sanna, collaborator of the Team delle Pratiche Riparative of Sassari University and member of the local theatre group Volpe Bianca, produced a short film on the sufferings of Sardinia and its inhabitants, reflecting on ideas for healing and reparation. This is a unique piece presented for this Festival. The group is also active in one of the field trips we organise for our upcoming international conference in Sassari.