Keynote Lecture

The pandemic represents a period in which our world views have undergone seismic shifts with social and environmental justice movements finding renewed momentum. However, as the old methodologies of liberalism have failed to achieve these goals, both left and right have moved to more strident and authoritarian positions which form the basis of the so-called ‘ culture wars’.
 
As curator and guest artist for the inaugural Achates Philanthropy Foundation Symposium, Javaad Alipoor will give the Keynote Lecture, All that’s been revealed…, exploring the role of art in achieving justice with understanding.
 
Chair: Claire Armitstead is associate editor, culture for the Guardian. She presents the weekly Guardian books podcast and is a regular commentator on radio, and at live events across the UK and internationally.
 
Keynotes speaker: Javaad Alipoor is a British-Iranian, Manchester-based and Bradford-built artist, writer and founding Artistic Director of The Javaad Alipoor Company. The Javaad Alipoor Company takes stories beyond the stage through powerful multi-platform creations that explore the intersection of politics and technology in the contemporary world. Javaad was Resident Associate Director at Sheffield Theatres (2017-18), Associate Director at Bradford’s Theatre in the Mill (2015-2017) and is an alumni of Arts Council England’s Change Makers programme. Javaad’s plays include The Believers Are But Brothers, Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran (both published by Oberon) and Made of Mannheim, and his writing on international politics, cultural policy and art has been featured in The Guardian, The Independent and The Stage.