War has shaped almost every aspect of social life for the past 12,000 years and continues to have a powerful influence on human behaviour. Warfare is omnipresent in today’s world and is not unrelated to the prevailing economy. It has never been so visible and, at the same time, so difficult to discern its essentiality and its causes.

War undermines democracy and justice, and defiles memory; conflict is the norm in the midst of increasing deregulation that is inherent in the world of contemporary globalisation. Moreover, it nurtures antiquated cultural structures such as the patriarchy and paves the way for devastation such as humanitarian crises.

War provokes far-reaching traumatic repercussions in all areas and, at the same time, it is a “place” that arouses fascination. It is governed by ambivalence and there is no easy way to leave it behind. When faced with this situation, the question remains:  Why war?

Why War? is a contemporary art exhibition that interrogates the multifaceted phenomenon of war and, from diverse aesthetic experiences, opens up spaces for clarity and thought that question the persistence of the violence of war.

Participating artists: Francesc Abad, Kader Attia, Isabel Banal, Bleda y Rosa, Juan Manuel Echavarría (with Gabriel Ossa and Fernando Grisález), Alfredo Jaar, Rula Halawani, Shirin Neshat, Fernando Sánchez Castillo, Francesc Torres.

Check the exhibition activities program at this link.