Coade Exhibition in Badajoz Honors Minab Victims

Art from Extremadura Voices Against Barbarism: Coade Exhibition in Badajoz Honors Minab Victims
The Official College of Architects of Extremadura (Coade) in Badajoz, Spain, is hosting a deeply moving collective exhibition organized by Amnesty International. This is not just another art opening; it is a profound exercise in memory, denunciation, and social commitment following a tragic attack on a primary school in Iran.

A total of 16 professional artists and students from two regional high schools have joined forces in this project to shed light on the horrors of war and ensure that the victims are not forgotten.

🖤 The Origin: Bombing a "Space of Care and Learning"
The exhibition was conceptualized following the horrific attack on February 28 in the Iranian town of Minab. A missile struck a primary school, killing 168 people, including 110 children.

"A school is a space of care and learning; it cannot be allowed to become a death trap," stresses Remedios Tierno, spokesperson for Amnesty International in Extremadura.

The organization is utilizing this cultural space to demand an independent international investigation to determine accountability for this strike on civilian infrastructure.

🎨 Art as a Bridge for Global Empathy
One of the primary goals of the exhibition is to bridge geographic distances and bring a remote tragedy closer to the local community. The project urges the public to practice radical empathy—to realize that these victims could easily be the children of any local neighborhood.

Subtlety Over Shock: The paintings, photographs, and drawings do not explicitly depict violence. Instead, they use symbolism (withered flowers, compositions evoking absence) to create a subtle yet powerful emotional journey.

Solidarity Through Art: All pieces contributed by professional artists are available for purchase at a symbolic price of €100. All proceeds will directly fund Amnesty International’s human rights research.

Generational Engagement: Fine arts high school students from Badajoz and Plasencia have actively contributed, adding a youthful perspective to the tragedy.

💬 "We Want a Future": The Voice of Students
The involvement of young creators from IES Reino Aftasí (Badajoz) and IES Sierra de Santa Bárbara (Plasencia) has turned this project into an educational tool for critical thinking.

The students contributed:

Silhouetted Postcards: Drawings of young girls accompanied by messages about their stolen dreams written in multiple languages, including the poignant phrase: "The girls of today want a tomorrow."

Dioramas and Soundscapes: Immersive audio and physical models recreating fictional experiences inspired by armed conflicts to foster deeper social awareness.

🏛️ An Uncomfortable Question for Society
The exhibition closes with an uncomfortable but necessary reflection on civic passivity in the face of international atrocities. Artist Lourdes Murillo titled her own centerpiece with a question that directly challenges the viewer:

"What will we say when they ask us what we did?"

The Coade exhibition proves that contemporary art remains one of the most powerful amplifiers for defending human rights and keeping the memory of the forgotten alive.