Memory Dialogues : Empathy

Supporting Organisation(s):
GCRF and Sheffield Hallam University
Chair/Other Speakers:
Tony B. Miyambo, Namulondo Rashida, Rivardo Niyonizigiye and Samantha

Presented under the festival theme "When the Walls Come Down: Truth," this session featured the Empathy Chair (an artistic and technological intervention) alongside a panel discussion at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. The event brought together practitioners like Tony B. Miyambo and Namulondo Rashida to explore how art can dismantle psychological barriers and foster humanity in post-conflict societies.

This event served as a laboratory for ‘empathetic infrastructure’. At its core was the Empathy Chair, a physical device that used digital mediation to explore whether physiological states could be shared between individuals, bridging the gap between witness and victim.

Unlike a static exhibition, the presentation unfolded as a live ‘Memory Dialogue’. The panel transitioned from the chair’s technological capabilities to the visceral realities of trauma. Tony B. Miyambo shared his expertise in performing the archives of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Namulondo Rashida and Rivardo Niyonizigiye grounded the discussion in Uganda and Burundi’s contemporary peace-building efforts. The dialogue emphasised that empathy is not merely a feeling but a ‘risk’ demanding active participation.

David Cotterrell designed the chair to question whether technology distances us from suffering or if it can re-humanise the ‘other’ by synchronising biological markers of stress and calm. Cotterrell framed the dialogue as a means to challenge policy-making and humanitarian responses through the lens of art. He facilitated collaboration between high-tech visual media and the raw, performative traditions of the African artists involved, ensuring the technology didn’t overshadow the human narrative of the memorial site.