ArteEast Residencies are open to artists based in the Middle East and North Africa, including the Arab region and Turkey. This residency combines a 6-week residency at Residency Unlimited in Brooklyn, NY with an 8-week residency immediately afterward at Sculpture Space in Utica, NY. All ArteEast residencies provide for living space, round trip travel from the resident’s home country and a stipend. Residencies conclude with an ArteEast CONNECT extension in New York City, which will consist of a curated schedule of meetings with art professionals (curators, gallerists, programmers, etc.), as well as presentation and community engagement opportunities in concert with ArteEast’s various partners throughout New York City. Application Deadline: March 15, 2016 This residency will be most suited to artists who need time to fully conceive a project, and then realize it. The Residency Unlimited residency does not include private studio space, but a shared work/discussion space with other artists, creating an ideal environment in which to exchange and refine ideas and plan for a project. The Sculpture Space residency includes personal living and studio space as well as opportunities to connect with the local community, which includes the fourth-largest refugee population in the United States, and a beautiful community garden.
A great opportunity for artists based in the MENA region! (thanks for @hayroad for bringing it to our attention)
Kinan Azmeh performs with his quartet at ArteEast's 2013 forum in New York, 2013. Photo by Anne Billingsley.
Clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh, a Damascus native who today resides in New York, was a guest on WNYC’s The Takeaway on Feb. 4,* where he discussed his process of living the tragedy that has befallen his home country of Syria through his music.
Azmeh describes his music as “a little prayer for home,” for the small house he has in Damascus, where he sleeps the best, and where he recalls the smell of coffee.
“I took a time of silence for a year before I was able to write music again, because I was questioning the role of the artist, the role of music, if music can stop a single bullet at any time – of course it doesn’t, but what it can do is it can inspire,“ said Azmeh.
Azmeh recently held a concert at Carnegie Hall, a Doctors Without Borders benefit titled “Shostakovich for the Children of Syria” during which he performed his piece “A Sad Morning, Every Morning.”
“ … You get up in the morning here in NY, [and] the day has already passed in Damascus … And you know the first thing you do, you open your computer and you hear the terrible news, coming from home. So it became, really, a sad morning, every morning,” said Azmeh on the inspiration behind his composition.
In Spring of 2013, DOX BOX Syria Global Day represented just such an adjustment: the Syrian film festival DOX BOX, which had taken place every year in Syria since 2008, was canceled due to constant disruptions and violence on the ground.
Screenshot from feature film Damascus My First Kiss, Lina Alabed, 2012.
In response, the 2013 program, comprised of amateur footage titled "A Citizen With a Moving Camera" as well as feature films by acclaimed filmmakers, was screened simultaneously in theaters and by participating television channels across the world, with ArteEast making the screenings available to a wide audience online, with a collection of short films and citizen documentaries.
Screenshot from shorts collection from 'A Citizen With a Moving Camera,' DoxBox 2013.
The concept of displacement, of finding an alternative home, shelter and space to create, are recurring struggles for artists who dwell in places of conflict, upheaval and violence. In the case of Syria, whose citizens have put forth an array of artistic performances and collections since violence broke out in 2011, the marks of war and conflict in art are everywhere.
“It’s … some kind of therapy, for me to speak out. Because I think that music is an act of freedom in some way.”
As Azmeh relates in the interview, occupying of space can take on new meaning, and mediums, when facing conflict. With conflict creating impossible barriers for the artist to carry out everyday practice, alternative routes must be constructed. Art and conflict will always require both viewers and artists to navigate unchartered waters.
Says Azmeh, “Am I able to experience, really, what people are going through on the ground? Of course not. But that’s the way I can react to it. That’s the only thing I can do.”
*(Kinan Azmeh's interview appears in the WNYC audio file at the 10:27 mark).
Tarek Al-Ghoussein, K Files, 2013. Al-Ghoussein is one of the representing artists at the Kuwait Pavilion this year.
Bahrain
For Bahrain’s first official participation in the Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition (although it appeared in the past two architecture biennales), emerging and veteran talent collaborate to create In a World of Your Own with painter Mariam Haji, installation artist Waheed Malullah and photographer Camille Zakharia. The pavilion is curated by Melissa Endters-Bhatia and is commissioned by Minister of Culture Sheikha Mai bint Mohamed Al Khalifa.
Camille Zakharia, from Elusive Homelands - The Peltekian Family.
Egypt
Mosaic artist Mohamed Banawy and renowned sculptor Khaled Zaki presentTreasuries of Knowledge, curated by Zaki, this year at the Encyclopedic Palace Pavilion at Giardini. With Zaki’s fluid sculpture and the puzzle-like compositions of Banawy, the pavilion builds on themes of bodies, motion and space.
Khaled Zaki, sculpture.
Iraq
Welcome to Iraq is a collaboration of eleven contemporary Iraqi artists, curated by Jonathan Watkins. Welcome to Iraq depicts the joyful aspects of Iraq’s culture through the diverse works of two generations of Iraqi resident artists. Welcome to Iraq will be held in the first floor space of a 16th century estate never before used for Pavilion purposes, creating a communal salon-like ambiance and inviting patrons to enjoy tea and biscuits while enjoying snapshots of everyday life in Iraq. The pavilion is sponsored by The Ruya Foundation.
A mural in Baghdad, from Welcome to Iraq
Kuwait
National Works marks Kuwait’s first participation in the Venice Biennale, with sculptor Sami Mohammad and photographer Tarek Al-Ghoussein. The pavilion is curated by Ala Younis and commissioned by the National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters. National Works is a reimagined view of the nation’s modernization, with Al-Ghoussein’s eight-part portrait series of the artist in historical landscapes and Mohamed’s larger-than-life statue creations.
Tarek Al-Ghoussein, excerpt from K Files.
Lebanon
Akram Zaatari represents Lebanon this year with Letter to a Refusing Pilot,curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath. The pavilion is commissioned by the Association for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon (APEAL). Zaatari’s video and media installation builds on past themes of national archives and art in times of conflict in a piece that coincides with Lebanon’s 70th year of independence.
Akram Zaatari, Letter to a Refusing Pilot. Video still. 2013.
Palestine
Palestine will be represented this year by artists Bashir Makhoul and Aissa Deebiand curated by Bruce Ferguson and Rawan Sharaf. Deebi, a founding member ofArteEast, and Makhoul are both multimedia artists whose works have graced several international festivals over the years. The collateral exhibition, entitled Otherwise Occupied, portrays an alternative view of Palestine and its culture, one that imagines an identity beyond the habitual focus on the confines of political occupation. Makhoul’s interactive installation and Deebi’s mixed media video and drawing piece comment on both the physical and emotional reactions to borders, while representing the parallel existence beyond them.
Bashir Makhoul, Giardino Occupato. 2013.
Saudi Arabia
Rhizoma (Generation in Waiting) isa collateral exhibition that highlights the works and worlds of Saudi Arabia’s contemporary artists. Presented by Edge of Arabia, Rhizoma showcases the works by artists Abdulkarim Qassem, Abdullah Alothman, Ahaad Alamoudi, Ahmad Angawi, Basmah Felemban, Batool Alshomrani, Dana Awrtani, Eiman Elgibreen, Eyad Maghazil, Heba Abed, Huda Beydoun, Majid Althobaity, Mala’a Al-Amoudi, Mohammad Makki, Nasser Salem, Nora A. Almazrooa, Nouf Alhimiary, Omamah AlSadiq, Ramy Alqthamy, Saeed Salem, Sami Al-Turki, Sarah AbuAbdallah, Sarah Al Abdali and Shaweesh. The exhibition focuses on Saudi’s young generation of contemporary artists through a new media lens, focusing on themes of multiplicity through video art, photography and mixed media installations. Curated by Sara Raza and Asraf Fayadh.
Duccio Trombadori will curate the Syrian pavilion Cara Amica Arte, to be shown this year at the Isola di San Servolo venue. In a time fraught with turmoil, the Syrian pavilion strives to showcase and honor the ‘peaceful mission of art’ by drawing on works from Syrian, Italian and international artists, commissioned by Christian Maretti. The pavilion showcases works by artists Giorgio De Chirico, Miro George, Makhowl Moffak, Al Samman Nabil, Echtai Shaffik, Giulio Durini, Dario Arcidiacono, Massimiliano Alioto, Felipe Cardena, Roberto Paolini, Concetto Pozzati, Sergio Lombardo, Camilla Ancilotto, Lucio Micheletti, Lidia Bachis and Hannu Palosuo.
Lidia Bachis, Un debuttante nell’assoluto. 2013.
Turkey
Acclaimed video artist Ali Kazma represents Turkey this year with Resistance, a series of videos that expresses the limits, strength and languages of the human body. Emre Baykal curates the pavilion, commissioned by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKS).
Ali Kazma, Resistance, 2013. Video still.
United Arab Emirates
Celebrated artist Mohamed Kazem represents the UAE in his solo exhibition entitledWalking on Water. After being widely celebrated at Art Dubai this year, Kazem brings his whimsical and avant garde compositions to life through a multimedia collection of painting, technology-fueled installations and photography. The pavilion is curated by Reem Fadda of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and is commissioned, for the third time, by Dr. Lamees Hamdan of the Dubai Culture and Arts Foundation.
Mohamed Kazem, Walking on Water.
The 55th Venice Biennale contemporary art festival will be held this year from June 1 to November 24, 2013.
Wave and Buried Secrets bring us more masterpieces from Tunisia’s filmmakers for the third installment of French Institute Alliance Francaise’s (FIAF) World Nomads Tunisia festival, co-presented by ArteEast .
Mohamed Ben Attia’s 2010 short, Wave, provides powerful commentary on historical memory as a grandmother repeats a story to her grandson over three formative periods in his life.
Buried Secrets (Raja Amari, 2009) tells the story of a mother and her two daughters who inhabit an abandoned mansion, where they once worked as servants and now live in isolation. When the young, upperclass heirs unexpectedly move in, the three decide to conceal their presence.
What ensues is a gripping upstairs/downstairs drama set in a world on the brink of collapse. Secrecy is threatened as daughter Aisha (Hafsia Herzi) is drawn to the decadent life of the unsuspecting neighbors, where intrigue overpowers her mother’s orders to remain hidden. Amari incorporates a horror film chill, creating a haunting, sensual and gripping film as Aisha discovers a new world through her voyeurism: one of sex, luxury and privilege that eclipses her own primitive existence. Amari’s camera is soaked in gloomy shades, while Herzi’s haunting performance imbues the plot with a constant state of alarm and foreboding. Amari’s dark tale evokes themes of Tunisia’s complex class tensions in this unconventional coming-of-age drama.
Wave & Buried Secrets will be screened at FIAF on May 21 at 12:30, 4:00 and 7:30 pm. Tickets are available online.
For the second installment of this month's Cinema Tuesdays: Tunisia in Film at the French Institute Alliance Francaise’s (FIAF) World Nomads Tunisia festival, ArteEast is pleased to co-present the short Law 76 and feature film Satin Rouge.
Law 76 is a mock documentary set on the eve of Tunisia's 2015 election. Mohamed Ben Attia's 2011 film focuses on an imagined Tunisia of tomorrow.
Satin Rouge, the first feature film written and directed by Raja Amari, follows a well-to-do widow (played by Hiam Abbass) as she breaches social taboos and class barriers after entering the glitzy, sensuous world of a local cabaret. Described as to the Tunisian component of Dirty Dancing and Flashdance in its 2002 New York Times review, Satin Rouge chronicles a woman wrestling with grief and desire, while coming to terms with self expression.
Law 76& Satin Rouge will be screened at FIAF on May 13 at 12:30, 4:00 and 7:00 pm. Tickets are available online.
To commemorate the French Institute Alliance Francaise’s (FIAF) World Nomads Tunisia festival, ArteEast is pleased to co-present Cinema Tuesdays this month with Tunisia in Film, a series of gripping and relevant films, documentaries and shorts. The series is curated by celebrated producer Dora Bouchoucha and explores the rich culture of Tunisa before and after the uprisings of the 2011 Arab Spring.
The Silences of the Palace is particularly appropriate to begin this conversation as a film that examines a nation - through intimate familial relationships - on the cusp of political change. Drawing on themes of nationalism and gender politics, tradition and family bonds, Moufida Tlatli’s 1994 film tells the story of Alia, a young woman confronting her buried past on the eve of Tunisia’s independence in 1956.
One “revolution” later, we experience both nostalgia for a past legacy and the necessity of hope for the future through the eyes of Alia, as she revisits the dilapidated palace of her childhood and confronts the road that lies ahead.
The Silences of the Palace will be screened at FIAF on May 7 at 12:30, 4:00 and 7:00; the 7:00 screening will be followed by a Q&A with curator Dora Bouchoucha, presented by ArteEast Executive Director Mahnaz Fancy.
All That's Left to You: Palestinian Writers in Conversation
ArteEast is proud to present All That's Left to You: Palestinian Writers in Conversation, the first ever panel of Palestinian writers to participate in the PEN World Voices Festival, with the generous support of The Lannan Foundation, The New School and the Open Society Foundations.
Contemporary authors Najwan Darwish (Je me lèverai un jour), Randa Jarrar (A Map of Home) and Adania Shibli (We are All Equally Far from Love) will share their work and experiences of creating award-winning literature under occupation, siege and exile. Join us in celebrating the literary voices of contemporary Palestine on May 4, 2013 at The New School.
For more information click here. To purchase tickets, click here.
As we prepare to celebrate our tenth year as a leading international organization dedicated to the arts of the Middle East, North Africa and their diasporas, ArteEast is pleased to announce the debut of ArteNews.
This space will allow us to engage our audiences in exciting conversations with emerging and established artists, filmmakers and writers, as well as the community of arts professionals that shares our mission. Our on-the-ground coverage and conversations will provide readers with an insider’s perspective on the diversity, depth and breadth of the MENA arts, while our growing global presence offers a critical look at what is being done now in the studios, streets and exhibition spaces of MENA arts communities across the world.
ArteNews connects our various live and online programs, including the ArteEast Quarterly, programming and services, with a finger on the pulse of the dialogue between the regional and international arts communities.
