Exhibition of the Month
This Week in Palestine
Issue No.158, June 2011.
“Perfect. Ramallah is becoming the capital of video art in the Middle East.” - Joerg Schumacher, director of the Goethe-Institut Ramallah.
It makes perfect sense actually. In a place that has a hard time accessing artworks from abroad due to postal and border checkpoints from every which way, it is no wonder that video and performance is the way to bring contemporary art to Palestine. It is extremely difficult for artists from the Arab world to get a visa or even to be able to send a package. Video Art is the solution. Performance Art allows the body to become the canvas. And for local artists it is a way to push the boundaries beyond the classical art forms (which are still, of course, beloved). Art is often still thought of as painting or sculpture, but new forms such as video art and performance give both the artist and the viewer the chance to challenge these ideas and break into new ways of self-expression, which the global art world has already embraced. The idea is also to engage the local audience through making the work approachable via the conceptual content and form.
From 6-12 June, Ramallah and Jerusalem will be taken over by the /si:n/ Festival of Video Art & Performance. The cities will have the spotlights on it. International artists and experts in the field will come, and the dialogue about Palestine, its artists, and themes in the work will be the topics of conversation that will offer participants a chance to network and debate. It is a collaboration of many of the local and international cultural institutions, including the A.M. Qattan Foundation (Ramallah), Al Mahatta Gallery (Ramallah), the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre (Ramallah), the Franco-German Cultural Center (Ramallah), Les Instants Vidéo Numériques et Poétiques (Marseille), Palestinian Art Court - Al Hoash (Jerusalem), Eltiqa Group for Contemporary Art (Gaza), Dar al-Kalima College (Bethlehem), and Birzeit University Ethnographic and Art Museum and the Virtual Gallery (Birzeit). The festival began in 2009, and this year in its second round, the programme will be more diverse than ever, offering a video art workshop, video art installations throughout the area, and the most contemporary and engaging performances.
The coordinator of the festival Reem Shilleh says, “The /si:n/ Festival for Video Art & Performance aims to be a meeting space for knowledge, discussion, and production. We hope that the 2011 edition will establish itself further within the art scene in Palestine, contributing to its development and vitality and becoming a pivotal platform that will attract new participation both regionally and internationally. But most importantly, the 2011 edition was designed to open up this meeting space to new participation and feature upcoming artists, especially locally and regionally, by involving works and artists that could offer newer forms of visual expressions.”
Highlights include: Marc Mercier in Conversation with Esther Ferrer in Performance Art; Video Art Screening Programme: Fluttering Selfhoods curated by Medrar (Egypt); Film Screening: Ticket to Ezrael by Abdallah al-Ghoul, and a film by Ihab Tarabyeh; Performances: Gaza Seige by Rana Bshara and Pathetic Loser by Juliana Irene Smith; Master Lecture: History of Video Art by Christophe Blaze; and Video Art Installation: a selection of upcoming Palestinian artists.
This Week in Palestine
Issue No.158, June 2011.
“Perfect. Ramallah is becoming the capital of video art in the Middle East.” - Joerg Schumacher, director of the Goethe-Institut Ramallah.
It makes perfect sense actually. In a place that has a hard time accessing artworks from abroad due to postal and border checkpoints from every which way, it is no wonder that video and performance is the way to bring contemporary art to Palestine. It is extremely difficult for artists from the Arab world to get a visa or even to be able to send a package. Video Art is the solution. Performance Art allows the body to become the canvas. And for local artists it is a way to push the boundaries beyond the classical art forms (which are still, of course, beloved). Art is often still thought of as painting or sculpture, but new forms such as video art and performance give both the artist and the viewer the chance to challenge these ideas and break into new ways of self-expression, which the global art world has already embraced. The idea is also to engage the local audience through making the work approachable via the conceptual content and form.
From 6-12 June, Ramallah and Jerusalem will be taken over by the /si:n/ Festival of Video Art & Performance. The cities will have the spotlights on it. International artists and experts in the field will come, and the dialogue about Palestine, its artists, and themes in the work will be the topics of conversation that will offer participants a chance to network and debate. It is a collaboration of many of the local and international cultural institutions, including the A.M. Qattan Foundation (Ramallah), Al Mahatta Gallery (Ramallah), the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre (Ramallah), the Franco-German Cultural Center (Ramallah), Les Instants Vidéo Numériques et Poétiques (Marseille), Palestinian Art Court - Al Hoash (Jerusalem), Eltiqa Group for Contemporary Art (Gaza), Dar al-Kalima College (Bethlehem), and Birzeit University Ethnographic and Art Museum and the Virtual Gallery (Birzeit). The festival began in 2009, and this year in its second round, the programme will be more diverse than ever, offering a video art workshop, video art installations throughout the area, and the most contemporary and engaging performances.
The coordinator of the festival Reem Shilleh says, “The /si:n/ Festival for Video Art & Performance aims to be a meeting space for knowledge, discussion, and production. We hope that the 2011 edition will establish itself further within the art scene in Palestine, contributing to its development and vitality and becoming a pivotal platform that will attract new participation both regionally and internationally. But most importantly, the 2011 edition was designed to open up this meeting space to new participation and feature upcoming artists, especially locally and regionally, by involving works and artists that could offer newer forms of visual expressions.”
Highlights include: Marc Mercier in Conversation with Esther Ferrer in Performance Art; Video Art Screening Programme: Fluttering Selfhoods curated by Medrar (Egypt); Film Screening: Ticket to Ezrael by Abdallah al-Ghoul, and a film by Ihab Tarabyeh; Performances: Gaza Seige by Rana Bshara and Pathetic Loser by Juliana Irene Smith; Master Lecture: History of Video Art by Christophe Blaze; and Video Art Installation: a selection of upcoming Palestinian artists.
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