Traumascapes Arts Festival 2025 | Socially-engaged art as resistance to social trauma

Is it possible to still hope for social change when the cycles of violence feel so familiar? This film screening with presentation and Q&A explores how social trauma can be hard to see or even name, reflects on the recent history of Syria and the wider Arab region, and settles on art as a means of resistance.

Including a special preview screening of 'What if we were happy?' (29mins) by Julie-Yara Atz:

Do events unfold in cycles? Does history inevitably repeat itself? Through the director's lens, we follow Lebanese photographer Nadim, street artist Roula, and the director’s Syrian flatmate Haifa as they navigate life in contemporary Lebanon, reflecting on what it means to be alive in a place where the past seems to echo endlessly into the present.

​with Julie-Yara Atz, Alaa Shasheet, Leila Sibai chaired by Andrea Luka Zimmerman

Julie-Yara Atz (she/they)

Julie-Yara is a Syrian-Swiss cultural anomaly, whose work is as explorative as their identity. They recently completed an MA in Cultural Studies, with a focus on subversive storytelling in Syrian diasporic cinema. A practitioner at heart – filmmaker, writer and actor – they are just as comfortable in drama as they are in comedy and are especially interested in the weird, experimental forms in-between. Julie-Yara has acted in “Kingdom Uncovered: Inside Saudi Arabia” as well as “Shetland 6”, and her films “What If We Were Happy?” and “Amoureuses Folles du Reflet dans le Miroir” are just starting their festival runs! Keep an eye out.

Alaa Shasheet (he/him)

Shasheet is a painter and printmaker based in London, UK. He studied Fine Arts in his hometown at Damascus University. Shasheet left Syria in 2011 to pursue an MA in International Contemporary Art in Malaysia. He explored Asian art and culture in Kuala Lumpur and Penang while working in design, fine art and art education until his move to London. Shasheet’s diverse body of artwork has a strong visual vocabulary that includes painting, printmaking, and mixed media. He has won critical acclaim for his ability to portray feelings and emotions with the use of solid graphical abstract compositions and lines on the canvas.

Leila Sibai (she/they)

Leila is a legal researcher currently working as an independent legal investigator in collaboration with the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA), with whom she supports the development of case-files pertaining to war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria. Leila has an MA in International Law and an MA in Research Architecture and is currently developing her own research practice. Leila is also a board member of Huquqyat.

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Festival

The Traumascapes Arts Festival 2025 explores survivorhood through exhibition, film screenings, dance performances, talks, and workshops – all from the perspective of artists and researchers with lived experience of trauma.

See full programme here: https://traumascapes.org/arts-festival

About us

Traumascapes is a survivor-led organisation dedicated to changing the ecosystem of trauma and creating new horizons for survivors through art and science. Our work is bold, disruptive, and caring. It serves trauma survivors (individuals and groups who have been impacted by traumatic experiences such as, but not limited to, violence or abuse), persons and communities who support survivors, & professionals, organisations, and institutions who work on trauma and/or with survivors.

Accessibility

The venue is fully wheelchair accessible with step-free access throughout. An exhibition information pack is available with visual and conceptual descriptions of each artwork. A large-print pack is also available. All films screened as part of the festival include closed captions. Peer support workers and a quiet space with noise cancelling headphones and fidget toys are available on site (see the 'Caring for yourself and others' section below).

If you have any other access needs, please contact Julian and we will do our best to accommodate: julian@traumascapes.org.

Caring for yourself and your community

What to expect

The Traumascapes Arts Festival explores what it means to survive trauma, both individually and collectively. It includes the torment, the joy, and the messiness in between - all from the perspective of artists and researchers with lived experience of trauma. There are mentions/themes of colonialism, systemic violence, childhood and adulthood abuse (sexual, physical, emotional) and neglect, but there are no direct visual depictions of violence or abuse.​

Self and mutual care

It is important to hold space to explore trauma in order to raise awareness and to come together as a community to challenge the status quo and support collective healing. To create change, we must confront the reality of trauma - and this reality is a painful one.

But, as we do so, we must also counteract the normalisation of violence by fostering safety and protecting our wellbeing. As you explore the festival, we invite you to look after yourself and one another. Choose whether and when to engage, how much, and with whom. Step out when you need to and take care of yourself however feels right. Check-in with your peers too.

Support

• Peer support workers will be on site throughout the festival and you can chat to them any time. You can recognise them from their frog badges.

• A quiet space is located on the far end of the venue, on the right, where you can stay as long as you like, whenever you like.

• You can find noise-cancelling headphones, fidget toys, and art materials in the quiet space, which you can use at any time.

• Creative meditation and embodiment workshops are scheduled as part of the festival.

• An audio guide with grounding invitations is available for anyone to use as a way to explore the exhibition accompanied by some gentle grounding practices.

• For additional sources of support, please click here.

We may not be able to avoid all hurt and harm, but we can nurture safety and negotiate trauma with openness, mutual care, empathy, and grace. Thank you for being part of this.