The Memorialization of the Lebanese Civil War Through Art Production - Why is art important in transitional justice? And how have Lebanese artists memorialized the civil war?

Analysis by Audrey Azzo, Visiting Contributor

Transitional justice is an interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on post-conflict societies and encompasses political science, economy, sociology amongst other disciplines related to social sciences. When theorizing transitional justice, scholars overlooked the importance of art in the mechanisms employed. In 2012, The ICC found homas Lubanga Dyilo guilty of war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo and for the first time since the emergence of the field, the court insisted on the use of art as a means of reparation to the victims.

In the aftermath of the Lebanese civil war, little to none of the transitional justice mechanisms that we know of were employed, and the necessary task of commemorating the war was left to the civil society. The essay focuses on the importance of art in transitional justice and provides examples of art productions exhibited by prominent artists in the years following the uncivil war.