UN Human Rights: Minority Art Defends Human Rights in Geneva
Exhibition Connects Cultural Identity and Intercultural Dialogue
August 11th, 2026
UN Human Rights and the City of Geneva have brought the “Arts, Minorities and Human Rights” exhibition to Quai Wilson, where works by 30 minority artists are being presented from 31 July to 31 August 2026. The open-air exhibition uses painting, photography, sculpture, digital art, dance and music to bring attention to minority experiences and the role of artists as human rights defenders.
The exhibition presents laureates from the 2022–2025 editions of the International Contest for Minority Artists and is organised around four themes: Statelessness, Intersectionality, Memory in the Present, and Belonging, Place and Loss. Each work is accompanied by the artist’s personal story, linking creative expression with experiences of discrimination, displacement and cultural marginalisation. The project is a collaboration between UN Human Rights and the City of Geneva, with Freemuse, Minority Rights Group and the Centre des Arts of the International School of Geneva among its partners.
Alongside the exhibition, UN Human Rights partnered with Geneva’s Embassy of Foreign Artists to organise the first residency of the “Minority Artists for Human Rights” initiative. Four previous contest laureates - Chuu Wai from Myanmar, Bakri Moaz from Sudan, Alia Al-Saadi, of Palestinian descent and born in Syria, and Tufan Chakma from Bangladesh - participated in the residency. Their different cultural backgrounds created opportunities for artistic exchange and dialogue while bringing minority perspectives from several regions into a shared international setting.
The artists address subjects ranging from exile and memory to women’s rights, belonging and the loss of cultural identity. Al-Saadi described the residency as an opportunity to meet people from different cultures and exchange ideas with artists from around the world, while Chakma said the experience was helping him develop new ideas and relationships. By connecting artists across national and cultural boundaries, the programme demonstrates how cultural exchange can contribute to human rights education and strengthen dialogue between communities.
The Geneva exhibition places artistic expression within a wider framework of international cooperation on minority rights. Through collaboration between a UN body, municipal authorities, cultural organisations and artists, it creates a public space where personal experiences can reach audiences beyond their communities of origin. Remaining open until 31 August, the exhibition shows how art can preserve memory, communicate experiences across borders and support dialogue on human dignity, identity and cultural rights.
