Bodies on the Line is a mini-exhibition, panel discussion, and dance intervention organised by the Art Rights Truth team at the University of York in collaboration with UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts, the Guild for Media Arts, and XR Stories.

Inspired by discussions surrounding increasing threats to traditional forms of resistance both in the UK and globally – and motivated by the conviction that new languages for human rights can be developed within the arts – we aim to explore the role of the body in contemporary forms of protest.

All three components of the event will address how artists and activists alike use their bodies to push the boundaries of established forms of protest, embracing alternative methods and gestures to challenge oppression, open up conversations, and invite collective action. These gestures range from the gentle and discrete to the rhythmic or sensorial, even while negotiating with other more explicit forms of violent transgression. Works experiment with how bodies are put on the line.