AustLit

Authors' abstract: Recently a number of conferences and exhibitions have focused on the relationship between creative practice and human rights, and writers, visual and performance artists and others have protested human rights abuses and/or made work that specifically responds to current problems. But what is art capable of doing in the face of global political events, economic problems and socio-cultural catastrophes - and what is its responsibility? This paper discusses some ideas that emerge from the literature, and also some trends in Australian publishing after September 11.