In celebration of IMMART’s 10-year-anniversary, IMMART is collaborating with the University of Copenhagen and United Nations agencies to bring you the exhibition UNDER CONSTRAINT. 

 

Time: 13:15 – 16:15

Date: 12 November 2026

Location: UN City Copenhagen, Marmorvej 51, 2100

The exhibition brings together four artists whose practices examine how creativity develops within conditions of limitation. Through experiences of migration, political upheaval, social expectations, identity formation, and cultural norms, the artists explore how constraint shapes both personal experience and artistic expression. Together, their works reveal that constraint is not solely restrictive but can also become a catalyst for resilience.

 

UNDER CONSTRAINT is part of Day 2 of the HUM:GLOBAL Conference 2026: Pluralism in Practice: Global Humanities at the Intersection of Geopolitics, Culture, and Public Dialogue.

The  conference brings together scholars, practitioners, artists, and institutional actors to examine how pluralism operates across different domains. Prior to the exhibition, we shall engage critically with the conditions that shape knowledge production, cultural expression, and public discourse and to reflect on the role of institutions, disciplines, and individuals in sustaining open and inclusive spaces for dialogue with a panel debate and audience Q&A.

The event is free to attend but registration is required, and you must bring photo ID to enter the UN building.

Sign-up for either the full two days of the conference or only Day 2 here.

PROGRAM

13:15 – Arrival at UN City (photo ID is required for entry to UN City)

13:45 – Welcome by Dorthe Gert Simonsen, Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen and Ragen Nair, Chief of Mission of International Organization for Migration (IOM) Denmark

14:00 – Panel discussion Shaping Public Dialogue Under Constraint: Culture, Rights, and Creative Practice, with human rights lawyer Nani Jansen Reventlow, Senior Advisor & Deputy Director at Nordisk Kulturfond Anni Syrjäläinen, Senior Advisor at Kulturdirektorat Norway, Monica Ifejilika, Punk Feminist Multimedia Artist, Eli Trier, and Professor of Modern Culture and Contemporary Art at the University of Copenhagen Anne Ring Petersen. Moderated by Former Director of the UN Library and Archives Geneva, Francesco Pisano

15:15 – Break

15:45 – Exhibition opening UNDER CONSTRAINT by Melanie Dawn Smith, and presentations of artworks by aritsts Eli Trier, Deaddie Mercury, Angélique Sanossian and Behnaz Larsen

16:15 – Break

Bonus Program:

16:30 – docUNight A Fox Under a Pink Moon

19:15 – Closing