Research Night: Architectures of Justice

How are the spaces in which justice is discussed, negotiated and delivered shaped by architecture, ritual and performance?
About this Event

How are the spaces in which justice is discussed, negotiated and delivered shaped by architecture, ritual and performance? How can artistic practice help us to rethink the systems and institutions through which justice and collective decision-making are produced?

This Research Night welcomes Lily Abichahine, a lawyer, researcher, and artist whose interdisciplinary practice explores the intersection of international law, performance and civic participation. The event will focus on her latest research project, Architectures of Justice, which examines the spaces and structures in which legal issues are debated and decisions and verdicts are made. Moving between spatial, institutional and performative understandings of these architectures, her research considers how contracts, procedures, rituals and forms of representation determine who can speak, who is heard and how collective decisions are made.

The tribunal

The tribunal, as both a legal institution and a cultural form, is central to this research. Through projects such as Tribunal for an Island, Bodies on Trial, and Tribunal for the Neckar, Abichahine explores how citizens’ forums can function as contemporary democratic assemblies. These projects revisit the aesthetics and rituals of the tribunal, opening up new spaces for participation, dialogue and collective reflection. Inspired by historical forms of assembly (including the ancient Greek agora, the Roman forum and the Irish Brehon legal tradition), her work asks how artistic research can imagine alternative relationships between governance, ecology, justice and community.

The talk will be followed by an extended Q&A and collective conversation. This will offer an opportunity to further explore Abichahine’s archive and discuss questions that emerge at the intersection of art, architecture and law.

Programme

• 19:00 – 19:10 Welcome and introduction
• 19:10 – 19:40 Research presentation / artist talk
• 19:40 – 20:30 Q&A and further insights from the artist’s personal archives

This event is open to artists, designers, architects, legal practitioners, researchers, students and anyone interested in the intersection of law, artistic practice and social imagination. No legal background is required.

Research Nights

Research Nights are recurring events dedicated to emerging interests and ongoing research within the Nieuwe Instituut. In an intimate and collaborative setting, visitors can gain insights into projects and exchange ideas through conversations, workshops, screenings and other experimental activities.