A-Infos (en) France, Monde Libertaire - IDEAS AND STRUGGLES: AIDA A History of Transnational Artistic Solidarity / The Jules Durand Affair (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

International Solidarity: Actions, Not Just Words! ---- A few weeks ago, 
we presented a book about the ESMA detention and torture center in 
Argentina during the dictatorship, as well as another on US support for 
the far right throughout Central and South America (see references at 
the end of the article). ---- The Presses Universitaires de Lyon (PUL) 
are publishing Moira Cristia's book, AIDA A History of Transnational 
Artistic Solidarity (1979-1985). Note that this translation by Philippe 
Dessommes Florez appears in the PUL's Collective Actions series. "The 
plural in the title of this collection attests to the diversity of 
collective forms of political participation, which cannot be neatly 
categorized[...]but also to the fact that they share affinities that 
preclude any disciplinary compartmentalization."

What is AIDA? It is the acronym for the International Association for 
the Defense of Artists Victims of Repression Worldwide. Founded in 1979 
in Paris by Ariane Mnouchkine, it brought together artists such as 
Patrice Chéreau, Claude Lelouch, Fernando Solanas, and Costa-Gavras. Of 
course, it is also the title of Verdi's opera, whose Chorus of the 
Slaves is familiar to us all. Bringing together people from the theater, 
writers, musicians, and filmmakers, this association produced 
"performance-demonstrations." For example, on November 14, 1981, nearly 
7,000 people gathered to denounce the abuses and crimes of the Argentine 
regime. There was also the "Night for Vaclav Havel," actions to secure 
the release of pianist Miguel Angel Estrella, and support for the 
Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. This is a journey through the 
association's archives to highlight the specific nature of its work. Its 
activities were not comprehensive; they focused on defending artists, 
while other organizations like Amnesty International adopted broader 
approaches. AIDA ceased its activism at the end of the 1980s. One might 
have hoped that the dictatorship would be a grim memory. However, the 
rise to power of Javier Milei led to the dismantling of institutions 
responsible for preserving the memory of the victims. Will those working 
in the cultural sector once again be persecuted, considered targets to 
be eliminated, ideological enemies? The behavior of dictatorships and 
authoritarian regimes is spreading throughout the world. It is unlikely 
that AIDA will rise from the ashes, but the dynamics of its origins can 
certainly help other activists to structure an artistic and 
solidarity-based organization, transnational networks. This book offers 
inspiration.

* Moira Cristia
AIDA: A History of Transnational Artistic Solidarity (1979-1985)
PUL, coll. Actions collectives, 2025

* Marina Franco and Claudia Field (eds.)
Crimes Against Humanity at ESMA
Anamosa, 2026

* Pablo Daniel Magee
The Condor's Pen
Syllepse, 2025

Jules Durand died on February 20, 1926. An anarchist trade unionist, he 
was the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice. We pay tribute to him.

https://monde-libertaire.net/?articlen=8859
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