Investigative Arts: Methods, Research, Approaches

Can art contribute to the investigation of political violence? Agata Nguyen Chuong (Advanced Researcher, Forensic Architecture), Jean Peters (investigative journalist at Correctiv and co-founder of the Peng! Collective) and Dr. Lisa Stuckey (Art and Cultural Theorist at the University of Applied Arts Vienna) talk to journalist Mohamed Amjahid. How can (digital) images, spatial data, open source research and visual strategies be used to investigate complex acts of violence, state cover-ups or human rights violations and make them publicly accessible? And how can the arts intervene rather than illustrate?

Agata Nguyen Chuong leads FA’s research on the Ovaherero and Nama genocide in present-day Namibia. Her research focuses on environmental and colonial violence and evidencing their enduring legacies. Agata is interested in developing spatial and visual methodologies for the reconstruction of historical environments in support of Indigenous land claims and advocacy. She joined FA in 2021 after completing an MA in Architecture at the Royal College of Art.

Jean Peters is a German journalist, author and performance artist. He is best known as a founding member of the Peng collective and for his work at Correctiv, particularly his investigation into the meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam in 2023. Peters has won awards for his political activism, theatre work and journalism, including the Aachen Peace Prize, the Carlo Schmidt Prize, the Dramatist Prize and the Leuchtturm Prize for investigative journalism.

Dr. Lisa Stuckey is an Art and Cultural Studies researcher. Her interests revolve around contemporary visual cultures, forensic and investigative art practices, the moving image and the curatorial, media aesthetics, and critical/cultural legal studies. Her current research deals with tribunalization phenomena. Stuckey works as Senior Scientist at the Institute of Arts and Society, University of Applied Arts Vienna

Mohamed Amjahid was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1988 as the son of so-called Gastarbeiter:innen. He attended school in Morocco until graduating from high school. He studied political science in Berlin and Cairo and conducted research on various anthropological projects in North Africa.

He researches and writes as a freelance investigative journalist for publications including Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung, taz, RBB, SWR and WDR. In his non-fiction debut Unter Weißen (Among Whites, 2017) and the bestseller Der weiße Fleck (The White Spot, 2021), he addresses the issue of racism. His investigative non-fiction book Alles nur Einzelfälle? (2024) deals with the system behind police violence.