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From dawn till dusk www.jpost.com Letter to Cordoba Center on Behalf of a Former 'Slave' palestinechronicle.com Video: Loss of InnocenceExhibition of Gaza Children's Art uruknet.info Haaretz: 150 Irish Artists Announce Israel Cultural Boycott english.wafa.ps Bourj el-Barajneh: Searching for Meaning in a Refugee Camp palestinechronicle.com Palestinian photographer exhibits in Scotland www.maannews.net Israel paints Marmara to hide evidence of massacre www.paltelegraph.com Refugee children explore Al-Quds math museum www.maannews.net Photo gallery: Unrest on the border www.jpost.com The bride, groom and the ex-president www.jpost.com Tel Aviv exhibit paints Israel's fascist future palestinenote.com 'This Time We Went Too Far' – Book Review palestinechronicle.com Despite Israeli blockade, innovation thrives in Gaza feedproxy.google.com Letters from Palestine – Book Review palestinechronicle.com Ahmad Sa'adat: A Palestinian Prisoner of Conscience palestinechronicle.com A Rift in Relations: Israel vs. Turkey palestinechronicle.com BGU scientists sheds light on ancient Egypt www.jpost.com Gaza: Graffiti Is Watching You uruknet.info Gaza: Graffiti Is Watching You www.palestinemonitor.org Gaza: Graffiti Is Watching You www.palestinemonitor.org Report: Israel’s Barak cancels France visit over flotilla raid www.maannews.net Barak Staying out of France because of Flotilla english.wafa.ps The West's Unexamined Problem with Itself palestinechronicle.com Israel hasbara fails again: Photos show Mavi Marmara passengers protecting, aiding Israeli soldiers uruknet.info IN PICTURES / Deep sea wonders in Jerusalem's Science Museum www.haaretz.com AIC Exhibition Al Quds: Like Heaven or Closer Opens in Bethlehem www.alternativenews.org Repression of Civil Liberties in Israel: A Dangerous Regression www.alternativenews.org A travel exhibition opened in Ramallah, soon in all WB www.paltelegraph.com Jerusalem, Like Heaven or closer www.alternativenews.org Jerusalem, Like Heaven or closer www.alternativenews.org Karazai in Washington: The War Awaiting Kandahar palestinechronicle.com BDS action against Israeli pharmaceutical company at COSMOFARMA expo palsolidarity.org Gazan man: Hamas beat me for affairs www.jpost.com Stop Repression Of Palestinian Civil Society www.palestinemonitor.org Bds Action Against Israeli Pharmaceutical Company At Cosmofarma Expo in Italy www.palestinemonitor.org Bds Action Against Israeli Pharmaceutical Company At Cosmofarma Expo in Italy www.palestinemonitor.org Armed PRC wing puts on Gaza military display www.maannews.net Israeli official in LA denounces National Geographic water exhibit uruknet.info Sixty Two Years of Israeli Independence palestinechronicle.com Israeli official in LA denounces National Geographic water exhibit www.maannews.net Israeli official in LA denounces National Geographic water exhibit uruknet.info Boston: Activists Disrupt Israeli Event At Museum Of Science www.palestinemonitor.org US photo exhibit: Israel blocks Palestinian access to water www.ynetnews.com EXISTENCE DENIED To Exhibits In Ramallah On Thursday english.pnn.ps Haniyeh: Fatah delegation to Gaza soon www.maannews.net Artists 4 Israel bring some color to Sderot www.jpost.com Anne Frank's full diary goes on display in Amsterdam www.haaretz.com Fomenting Armageddon: Jerusalem's Colonization and Western Apathy palestinechronicle.com Scottish activists to protest Israel expo www.jpost.com Israel’s Enabler in the U. S. www.counterpunch.org Veolia tries to spin its involvement in the occupation feedproxy.google.com Hundreds attend Syrian National Day celebrations at BIEL www.dailystar.com.lb Nablus festival marks Prisoners Day www.maannews.net PCHR Organizes Two New Panel Discussions as Part of Activities Aimed at Enhancing Democracy in the Palestinian Society palsolidarity.org Israel's manufactured outrage over a presidential palace feedproxy.google.com Cultural Cartography: “Ramallah: Work and Days” www.palestinemonitor.org Patient finds rehabilitation through art www.maannews.net DC art exhibit Friday - 'What Ham Saw: Drawings from Palestine' palestinenote.com Exhibtion fights the siege in Gaza www.paltelegraph.com Ramallah and Gaza are waiting www.israeli-occupation.org Elections committee: 85% of West Bankers registered www.maannews.net consciousness is rising, even in New York mondoweiss.net ingaza.wordpress.com Gaza: art for art’s sake uruknet.info art for art’s sake ingaza.wordpress.com Pharmacists to hold annual conference in Bethlehem www.maannews.net IN PICTURES / Danish artist dresses her baby as Hitler, exploring the meaning of evil www.haaretz.com Obama starts rising to the challenge palestinenote.com A week of fighting for justice in Palestine www.dailystar.com.lb Egyptian, South African novelists receive Mahmoud Darwish Award www.maannews.net Graffiti group to bring solidarity message to Sderot www.jpost.com Gideon Levy almost gets it uruknet.info PHOTO GALLERY: Mud brick houses in Gaza www.irinnews.org PA minister of tourism signs agreement with Cypriot counterpart www.maannews.net Heightened alert level in Hebron www.jpost.com Whose ‘Dove of Peace’? www.jpost.com Israeli Environmental Terrorism in the Holy Land palestinechronicle.com Spain sculpture offensive to Jews, Israel says www.haaretz.com The uninvited ghosts that populate Israel’s art history www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk Abunimah: ‘Israel is delegitimizing itself’ www.alternativenews.org War of the Colorful City www.alternativenews.org Israeli soldiers fire rubber bullets at journalists in East Jerusalem mondoweiss.net War of the Colorful City www.alternativenews.org reclaiming Gaza’s land www.palestinemonitor.org Danish artist: gold teeth used in Auschwitz work www.haaretz.com Palestinians prepare world’s largest keffiyeh www.maannews.net Investigator: Demjanjuk's story exhibits inconsistencies www.haaretz.com Ministry Of Mixed Messages www.palestinemonitor.org Exhibition "Palestine is beautiful - Innovation picture .. .. the article explicitly and realistic www.paltelegraph.com IN PICTURES / Artist displays Auschwitz model made from gold teeth of Holocaust victims www.haaretz.com Bethlehemite lives in cave to save land from confiscation www.maannews.net Neocon junket: ‘live penetration raids in Arab territory’ mondoweiss.net The first Palestinian on the moon english.pnn.ps CPT: Israeli settlers invade At-Tuwani village www.haaretz.com Gaza’s children speak of their desire for freedom www.maannews.net Israeli tourism minister invited to Iran -- or not freedomsyndicate.com Israel jails Palestinian peace activists palsolidarity.org Jordan to UN: Restore Dead Sea Scrolls to rightful owner www.maannews.net A Palestinian artist paints 1400 White phosphorus works of art uruknet.info Fayyad unveils sculpture series dedicated to Palestinian women www.maannews.net Ottoman-era decorations give picture of Palestine's past www.thenational.ae ’Santa’ protests Israeli wall in Bil’in www.maannews.net For Palestinians, possession of used IDF arms is now a crime www.haaretz.com For Palestinians, possession of used IDF arms is now a crime palsolidarity.org Bilin resident charged with displaying used bullets www.ynetnews.com No Road to Jerusalem english.pnn.ps The Gaza I Know www.palestinemonitor.org UN uses speeches, photo exhibit and concert to voice solidarity with Palestinians www.un.org Agam painting sells for record-setting $326,500 in New York www.haaretz.com Art Exhibition Organized by the AIC: Jerusalem...Like Heaven or Closer www.alternativenews.org For some young visitors, Holocaust exhibit on righteous Muslims calls up thoughts of Gaza Nir Hasson, Ha’aretz 1/29/2009 An exhibition about Muslims who saved Jews during the Holocaust opened Tuesday in the mixed Arab-Jewish city of Ramle. The exhibit, entitled "Besa: A Code of Honor," is a collection of photographs by American photographer Norman Gershman documenting Albanian Muslims who saved Jewish lives. It is on display at the town’s municipal museum. Albania is the only country in Europe that ended World War II with more Jews than it had at its outset, thanks to the actions of local Muslims, 68 of whom have been recognized as Righteous Gentiles by the Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance authority. However, the Arab high school girls visiting the show, which opened Tuesday in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, wanted to talk to journalists only about the harm that came to innocent people in Gaza. more.. e-mail A metaphor for dispossession that works Daily Star 9/20/2008 Review - BEIRUT: It’s not hard to approach a show called "Return of the Soul" with some skepticism. The world-weary will be rewarded when they glance over the profile of this exhibition, presently up on the main stage of Tayyouneh’s Dawar al-SHAM’s cultural center. The "souls" in question are Palestinian. The destination to which they are meant to "return" is Palestine. The exhibition, as the copious program notes explain, was first mounted in Palestine and its world tour will halt there, in order to insure and emphasize the Palestinians’ natural right to return. You don’t have to be a committed Zionist to be leery of this sort of thing. Over the years, the commodification of "Palestine" and "the Palestinians" has made it a great commercial asset for some, artists and non-artists alike, while doing little to relieve the predicament of the Palestinians themselves. more.. e-mail Portraits of a divided neighbourhood Edward Platt, The Guardian 7/30/2008 Hebron is the only place in the West Bank where Jewish settlers and Palestinians live and work side by side. Edward Platt reports on an art project aiming to document the city’s stallholders - Nawal Slelmiah - the only female stallholder in the market in the Old City of Hebron, or El Khalil, as it’s called in Arabic - attaches great significance to the black and white portrait on display among the hand-woven clothes and fabrics in her shop. Before the British artist, Caspar Hall, arrived in Hebron for a three-month residency sponsored by Art School Palestine, no one had ever painted her portrait before. More importantly, she believes the portrait sends an important signal to the Israeli settlers and soldiers who often pass her shop near the entrance to the souk. "They often stop and look at it, and it tells them that it’s my shop - I’m the owner, and I’m not leaving," she says. more.. e-mail Gibran anniversary marked in London Middle East Online 7/30/2008 By Mamoon Alabbasi – LONDON A lecture dedicated to the life and works of the famous Lebanese poet Gibran Khalil Gibran was held Thursday at the School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) in London. The lecture, which marks the 125th anniversary of the poet’s birth, was given by Professor Suheil Bushrui (University of Maryland, US), Director of the Kahlil Gibran Research and Studies Project. Gibran, born in 1883 in Lebanon, was best known for his book The Prophet, which sold millions of copies worldwide. His poetry has been translated into more than twenty languages, while his paintings have been exhibited in many capitals of the world. The event commenced with an introductory note by Mrs. Ibtisam Auchi, head of the Union of Arab Schools in the UK, which helped organise the lecture. She noted that the Lebanese artist was an acknowledged figure internationally before becoming known in the Arab Word. more.. e-mail British artist sheds light on life in southern West Bank PNN, Palestine News Network 7/29/2008 Hebron -- British artist Casper Hall has created 70 black and white oil paintings featuring Palestinian traders from the Old City of Hebron to help highlight the difficulties these people face. The artist spent two months in the central area of the southern West Bank city becoming acquainted with the residents and their lives. "Efforts are being made to revive the Old City of Hebron, and I hope to contribute," Hall said. "By painting the faces of the shopkeepers in the Old City, I’m attempting to shed light on a group of Palestinian merchants who are still defending their livelihoods despite the actions of the Israeli occupation. "Commenting on the difficulties experienced by the residents of Hebron, Hall said, "Most of the Palestinian traders inside the Old City were forced to close their shops after an Israeli judge closed off the roads that lead to the area. more.. e-mail Not unlike a genocide sing-a-long Daniel Phillips, Daily Star 7/21/2008 Review BEIRUT: "I hate all politics," says Mona Trad Dabaji, by way of introduction. Judging by the paintings that comprise her latest show, "My Land is Not for Sale," though, Dabaji does recognize politics’ role in the world, like it or not. It’s somewhere up there with religion, work, and family. "My goal was to show the people," she continues, "ordinary people, and how they live and work in their environment. "The title piece of Dabaji’s exhibition, "My Land is Not for Sale," is fittingly representative of her corpus of work over the last three years. Her medium here is an ornate, folding wooden door, rescued from the urban wreck that Beirut’s southern suburbs became in the wake of the 2006 war with Israel. One side depicts a farmer in the Bekaa Valley, his red kifayya whipped horizontal off his head by the stiff winds as he utters the phrase of the title. more.. e-mail Lighting the lamp of Arabic caricature in London Olivia Snaije, Daily Star 7/5/2008 Review LONDON: The late president of Germany, Johannes Rau, once remarked, "for politicians there has always been only one thing worse than being caricatured - and that is not being caricatured. "This statement evidently does not apply in the Middle East. Witness "Lighting Lamps," an exhibit of political cartoons by seven Middle Eastern artists that just went up at the London offices of The Guardian daily. Steve Bell, The Guardian’s searing political cartoonist and principal illustrator, was instrumental in bringing his Arab colleagues to London. The man who depicts US President George W. Bush as a monkey [some sort of simian, in any case] and regularly lambastes British and US foreign policy in the Middle East says he’s always been interested in the region. Bell traveled to Syria in 2007, where he met acclaimed cartoonist Ali Ferzat, and subsequently went on to Jordan. more.. e-mail Umm Kulthoum, the fourth pyramid David Tresilian, Al-Ahram Weekly 6/26/2008 A new exhibition on the life of Umm Kulthoum is bringing the Egyptian singer’s work to new audiences, writes in Paris Click to view caption Clockwise from left: Egypt’s Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni and Dominique Baudis (L), President of the Institut du monde arabe posing next to a portrait of Umm Kulthoum by Egyptian painter Adel El-Siwi at the opening of the Paris exhibition last Monday; Umm Kulthoum at the Pyramids plateau, photo by Antoune Albert; Star of the East, Umm Kalthoum, portrait by Egyptian artist Chant Avedissian; Umm Kalthoum in 1945 (Georges Mikaelian collection)INSTALLED IN A TEMPORARY BUILDING usually set aside as a performance space or to host visiting trade shows, the Institut du monde arabe’s current exhibition on the life of Umm Kulthoum is an opportunity for those already familiar with the Egyptian singer’s career to renew their acquaintance with the work of more.. e-mail VIDEO - Political cartoonists visit Israel to promote peace through satire Haaretz Staff and Channel 10, Ha’aretz 6/25/2008 Haaretz. com/Channel 10 daily feature for June 24, 2008. It’s amazing what bridges are built when the common language is political satire. ’Cartooning for Peace’, a movement born at a United Nations conference in 2006, brought the region’s leading political cartoonists to Israel and the Palestinian territories for an exhibit last week. The initiative was conceived by Plantu, a French political cartoonist at Le Monde, in aftermath of the rifts caused by the Mohammed cartoon crisis in Europe and a controversial Iranian Holocaust cartoon exhibit. Related articles:Danger, female cartoonist Moroccan wins first place in Iran Holocaust cartoon contestDanish newspapers reprint controversial Mohammed cartoon Also on Haaretz. com TV:Program places severely abused, hungry horses with adoptive families East. . . more.. related.. e-mail Community art Tamar Rotem, Ha’aretz 6/23/2008 No one expects to see tents pitched in front of an art gallery. But the "Station of Contemporary Art" that Bezalel Academy of Art and Design students erected in Ramle of all places strives to surprise. And that appears to be somewhat reasonable when one considers that a provocative artist like David Vekshtein, who is fond of addressing subjects like the Holocaust, is the project’s director. German students were invited to "Camp Ramle," a week-long marathon of art work in galleries that took place last week at the Station of Contemporary Art. They slept in field conditions together with Vekshtein’s Arab and Jewish students. Some of the guests, art students from Bauhaus University Weimar in Germany, were not even aware of the associations with the Holocaust invoked by the marathon’s title - until the middle of last week. more.. related.. e-mail Rarely seen segment of the Dead Sea Scrolls to be displayed for Israel’s 60th anniversary The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 5/1/2008 A rarely displayed segment of the Dead Sea Scrolls will be part of an exhibition for U. S. President George W. Bush and other dignitaries attending Israel’s 60th anniversary celebrations next month, a museum official said Wednesday. The ancient manuscripts date back over 2,000 years and contain almost the full text of the Jewish Bible, as well as early Christian texts. The segment on display will be from Psalm 133. It reads: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. There are about 1,000 segments of the ancient scroll. Eight pieces are onpermanent display at the Israel Museum and the rest, including Psalm 133, are kept by the Israel Antiquities Authority and rarely shown, a spokesman said Wednesday. Many of the fragments were found in a cave next to the Dead Sea. more.. e-mail Sheikha Shamsa: Art can combat poverty Middle East Online 4/30/2008 ABU DHABI – Art plays an important role in serving humanity and mobilising support for vital issues, said Sheikha Shamsa Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, Vice President for the UAE Red Crescent for Women’s Affairs, in a statement that coincides with the ‘Art for Aid’ exhibition, which will be held May 1-3 in Abu Dhabi under her auspices. “Art as a form of human creativity can play a leading role in serving humanity, especially in alleviating suffering and poverty around the world, from which millions of people continue to suffer,” said Sheikha Shamsa, the wife of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE. She pointed out that the exhibition’s name was a clear indication of the organisers’ keenness to combat poverty and human suffering around the world. “The title of this exhibit ‘Art for Aid’ uniquely expresses the intentions of the organization and their desire. . . more.. e-mail Barbican’s tribute to 1948 accused of demonising Israel Arifa Akbar, Arts Correspondent, The Independent 4/29/2008 As far as the organisers of the exhibition are concerned, these photographs of Arab refugees, displaced from their homes in Israel in 1948, are merely an artistic slice of life from a dramatic point in Middle Eastern history. But the Barbican Arts Centre’s show Homeland Lost, consisting of 16 black and white images taken by the photojournalist Alan Gignoux soon after Israel gained independence, is the unlikely frontier of new hostilities between Britain’s Israeli and Arab communities. Jonathan Hoffman, of the Jewish umbrella group the Zionist Federation, has complained to the London arts venue’s director Nicholas Kenyon about captions accompanying the photos, which state that the 800,000 Palestinians who left their homes were "uprooted" and "dispossessed". He accused the Barbican of "falsifying" history. Mr Hoffman insisted he was not speaking on behalf of the federation, on whose. . . more.. e-mail A jubilee of the arts Samir Sobhi, Al-Ahram Weekly 4/17/2008 The centenary of the Egyptian School of Fine Arts falls this year, the institution having opened on 12 May 1908 thanks to the generosity of the aristocrat Prince Youssef Kamal. Three years later the school’s graduates held their first degree show at the Cairo Automobile Club, and among them were some of the best-known pioneers of modern Egyptian art, including sculptor Mahmoud Mokhtar and artists Mohamed Hassan, Ahmed Sabri, and Ragheb Ayyad. Mokhtar in particular introduced national consciousness into his work, creating sculptures of ordinary Egyptians as well as of many of the pioneers of Egyptian nationalism. Mokhtar was the creator of a well-known statue of Saad Zaghlul, the nationalist leader, prime minister and leader of the Wafd Party, thereby providing, as it were, the "artistic fuel" for the 1919 Revolution. more.. e-mail Palestinian women artist exhibit at Palestinian National Theater in Jerusalem Palestine News Network 4/11/2008 Jerusalem / PNN- After opening to critical acclaim in Ramallah last month, a women’s art exhibit has moved on to Jerusalem, opening to a teeming crowd at the Palestinian National Theater, Al Hakawati. This comes just a month after Israeli forces shut-down a Palestinian cultural festival in East Jerusalem in an attempt to "not only destroy our political rights, but our cultural hertiage as well," reported Sami Awad, Director of the Bethlehem NGO specializing in nonviolent resistance, Holy Land Trust. Another photography exhibit by Khaled Jarrar, entitled, "Passage," opened in Ramallah yesterday evening at 6:00. His alarming collection is entitled, "Passage. "The photo featured here is his. The exhibit features pieces by 12 Palestinian female artists that were created during a month-long workshop led by Arab-American artist Helen Zughaib and sponsored jointly by the Palestinian. . . more.. e-mail Bethlehem residents vandalise Banksy graffiti Rebecca Harrison in Bethlehem, The Guardian 12/21/2007 Bethlehem residents have painted over a satirical mural by the graffiti artist Banksy that was meant to highlight their plight. The elusive British artist had painted six images around the town to help drum up tourism before Christmas and to illustrate the hardships faced by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. But the irony behind the depiction of an Israeli soldier checking a donkey’s identity papers was lost on some residents, who found it offensive. "We’re humans here, not donkeys," said Nasri Canavati, a restaurater. "This is insulting. I’m glad it was painted over." To be called a donkey in Palestinian society is similar to being called an idiot. Not all Bethlehem residents found the mural offensive. Fyras Twemeh, an architect, thought it was funny and made a neat political point. "It’s offensive for the Israelis, not for us," he said. more.. Michel Georgiou receives Gebran Tueni Award at ceremony honoring assassinated journalist Hassan Abdo, Daily Star 12/10/2007 BEIRUT: The coming second anniversary of the assassination of journalist and MP Gebran Tueni was commemorated on Sunday with the announcement of this year’s Gebran Tueni Award at the Beirut International Exhibition and Leisure Center. L’Orient-Le Jour columnist Michel Hajji Georgiou received this year’s prize, which is sponsored by the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and Lebanese daily An-Nahar, owned by the Tueni family. Tueni was assassinated by a car bomb on December 12, 2005. The ceremony was marked by a series of passionate and often emotional speeches given by members of the Tueni family, although the highlight of Sunday’s event was singer Majida al-Roumi’s riveting speech "Enough," which prompted a standing ovation from the audience of roughly 1,500. "Are we not all Lebanese? Did all those who fought in the North and South, did they not all fight because they are Lebanese?" asked Roumi. more.. In pictures: Banksy returns to Bethlehem BBC Online 12/3/2007 The British artist Banksy has painted new murals on the West Bank barrier which runs beside Bethlehem. The artist’s work famously takes an ironic look at politics. Here, in the town of Jesus’s birth, an Israeli soldier examines the ID card of the Christmas donkey. A rat is considered the artist’s trademark. Here one of the animals stands close to an Israeli checkpoint with a slingshot, symbol of Palestinian resistance. The artist - who does not give interviews - said through his PR spokeswoman that he hoped the art would "attract tourists to Bethlehem". The murals are part of an exhibition in Bethlehem opening on Monday. Several other international and Palestinian artists are taking part. This Banksy exhibit has sparked controversy. This wounded cherub work has been mistakenly identified as Jesus by some, despite denials by Banksy’s PR people. more.. 2006 report: Israel’s population 7.2 million, growing slowly Moti Bassok, Ha’aretz 9/11/2007 According to data gathered in 2006, Israel’s population on the eve of Rosh Hashana 5767 stands at 7. 2 million and exhibited a relatively low growth rate of 1. 8 percent, a Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) report revealed Monday. The population comprised at least 5. 4 million Jews and at least 1. 4 million Arabs. The report showed that population growth rate had remained steady, but had remained low, possibly due to a continuing downward trend in Aliyah since the 1990s. Figures showed 1. 5 percent population growth in the Jewish sector and 2. 6 percent in the Arab sector. The report revealed that Israel’s population is younger than that of Western countries, with 28 percent of Israelis aged under 14 compared to 17 percent, and 10 percent aged 65 and over compared to 15 percent in Western countries. more.. Photographer retraces 33 days of war through the lens of faltering romance Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, Daily Star 8/30/2007 Review - BEIRUT: On the night of July 12, 2006, the photographer Fouad Elkoury was attending a dinner party in Beirut. Talk of Hizbullah’s cross-border raid that morning, and speculations on the possible scope and scale of Israel’s response, dominated the conversation. No one guessed Beirut’s airport would be bombed the following morning, least of all Elkoury, who was scheduled to fly out the next day to catch the opening reception for an exhibition of his work in Athens. It is perhaps ironic that the eruption of one war in Lebanon cancelled Elkoury’s plans to attend a show about another one. In the course of a career that spans more than two decades, Elkoury has exhibited his work at the Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern and the Maison Europeene de la Photo. more.. Six artists interpret beauty on the verge of ruin Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, Daily Star 8/27/2007 Review - BEIRUT: What do gangly television antennae, fragile orchids, a crude magician, a few jagged edges of drywall and a ceramic heap resembling primordial sludge have in common? In the context of "Less Roses," an exhibition of new works by six contemporary artists on view at Galerie Sfeir-Semler, they all, each in their own way, speak to the city of Beirut and its peculiar urban condition. Curated by German photographer Elger Esser, "Less Roses" gives shape, image and form to a quality of the Lebanese capital that cannot really be captured or represented - its simultaneous ability to attract and repel. Those who love Beirut as they hate it, who relish its chaos as they complain of its lawlessness and who bask in its beauty as they bemoan its decline and decay will have no problem grasping the immediacy and relevance of this show. more.. Els van der Plas interviewed Interviewed by Mamoon Alabbasi, Middle East Online 8/11/2007 I don’t think civilisations clash. The word even contains the root ‘civil’ or civilized. To be civilized means, amongst others, the ability to live in harmony and peace with those around you. - Els van der Plas is an Art Historian. She was born in the Dutch town of Leiden in 1960. In 1987 she founded the Gate Foundation in Amsterdam, an international organization that promotes intercultural exchange in contemporary art. As Director, she set up a gallery, library and the office and was responsible for content, programming, the selection of art and artists, catalogue production, exhibitions, lectures, etc. In 1997 she became the first Director of the newly established Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development. Together with the Board of Advisors and the honorary Chairman, Prince Claus of The Netherlands, she determined the direction and scope of the Foundation. more.. Wild orchids and metaphorical shipwrecks Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, Daily Star 8/7/2007 BEIRUT: The contemporary art scene in Beirut is famously flexible. For more than 15 years, a community of independent artists and nonprofit arts organizations has built an infrastructure for cultural production that is capable of withstanding one political rupture after another. That infrastructure dovetails nicely with the commercial gallery system, which grows robust when economic times are good and becomes strained when they are bad. The dog days of August are always slow when it comes to art. Galleries typically go on hiatus for the month, artists and curators travel and the public seeks refuge at the beach or in the mountains. But few would argue that the contemporary art scene in Beirut is currently in good health. The otherwise indefatigable Agenda Culturel, the fortnightly French-language listings guide... more.. Art challenge cliches on Islam Stephanie Holmes, BBC Online 7/21/2007 A new exhibition of Islamic art from across the Muslim world aims to do far more than unite unusual, luxurious and rarely-seen objects. Organisers of the London event say that they hope the illuminated Korans, the perfume bottle carved from rock crystal and the leaf skeleton decorated with sacred text will change the way people think about Islam. The fabric of the Mongol robe was embellished with designs in goldThe Aga Khan, leader of the world’s 15 million Ismaili Shia Muslims and organiser of the project, believes arts can become "a medium of discourse that transcends barriers". "The essential problem, as I see it, in relations between the Muslim world and the West is a clash of ignorance," he said in a recent speech. He hopes the objects will spark a cultural dialogue and increase understanding about Islam within the West. more.. Photo exhibition displays horrors of last year’s war Farah Aridi, Daily Star 7/18/2007 ’Remembering July’ shows for 2 days at UNESCO - BEIRUT: "So their memory does not go to waste; so people see the truth no matter how harsh it was," said Al-Balad photographer Asaad Ahmad. Ahmad recently decided to display 47 of his photos taken during last summer’s war with Israel to coincide with the war’s anniversary. Along with a 10-minute clip containing two songs by Fairouz and Maghida al-Roomi, Ahmad also designed a two-day exhibition to commemorate victims of the war. The exhibition, entitled "Remembering July" and launched with the collaboration of the Civil Society Movement, began on Monday in the UNESCO Palace. The event is sponsored by Al-Balad newspaper. "Remembering July" depicts what really happened during the war in obscure areas, according to Ahmad - events that did not receive a requisite amount of publicity. more.. Qumran scrolls view challenged Yaakov Lappin, YNetNews 7/15/2007 US expert gives alternative tour of Dead Sea Scrolls, says Judeans fleeing Romans wrote text An American academic leading visitors around an exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Natural History Museum in San Diego will challenge the consensus on the identity of the scrolls’ authors, the Chicago Jewish News said on Friday. Professor Norman Golb, of the Jewish History and Civilization department at the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute, does not believe that the scrolls were authored by the ancient Jewish Essene sect, a pacifist group, as most experts believe, arguing instead that the scrolls were authored by a variety of Jewish residents of Judea who fled the Roman Army in 70 C. E. "In the last few years, the Chicago scholar’s theory has been bolstered by the work of two leading Israeli... more.. Palestinian artist’s photos on display in Germany Daily Star staff, Daily Star 7/2/2007 KASSEL, Germany: Palestinian artist Ahlam Shibli is exhibiting an installation of 47 black-and-white photographs at Documenta 12, an exhibition of contemporary art that takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Organized by the husband-and-wife team of Roger M. Buergel and Ruth Noack, Documenta 12 features 500 artworks by 113 artists, and remains on view through September 23. Shibli’s installation documents the details of daily life in a number of different Palestinian refugee camps. As an artist, she often works in such comprehensive and exhaustive series. Past works include a series called "Trackers," about Palestinians of Bedouin descent who are put in the service of the Israeli Army and trained to track down intruders and arms caches. more.. A glimpse into the history of Lebanese art James Farha, Daily Star 6/22/2007 REVIEW -- BEIRUT: Beirut may lack a proper art museum where people can trace the history of Lebanese art, and particularly the tradition of Lebanese painting from the 19th-century through the present, but an exhibition on view at the Villa Audi in Achrafieh through June 29 offers a specific glimpse of what such an institution could be. Businessman Raymond Audi, one of Lebanon’s most active arts patrons, has gathered together the privately held works of French modernist painter Georges Cyr for a two-month exhibition entitled "Georges Cyr dans les collections libanaises." The exhibition includes examples of Cyr’s work from many stages in his artistic life, but it focuses on the art he produced after he moved to Beirut from Normandy in 1934. more.. Lebanon’s future designers show their colors in exhibition crackling with politics Alex Selim, Daily Star 6/21/2007 REVIEW -- BEIRUT: For students across Lebanon, the end of this academic year is turning out to be more stressful than usual, with classes cancelled and exams postponed by sporadic eruptions of violence and incessant political instability. But on the Beirut campus of the Lebanese American University (LAU), students in the graphic design department have turned uncertainty to their advantage. Every year, the department puts on a design exhibition in LAU’s Sheikh Zayed Hall as a showcase for final projects. The show should have begun on June 14, but the opening was postponed out of respect for those attending the funeral of MP Walid Eido, who was killed in a bomb blast the day before (June 14 was declared a national day of mourning). The show opened instead on Wednesday, with over 200 projects on view. more.. The devotion is in the details Kaelen Wilson-Goldie, Daily Star 6/18/2007 INTERVIEW - BEIRUT: Roody Khalil’s photographs revel in the accidental and the everyday, the ordinary and the all-too-often overlooked. The 36 images that constitute Khalil’s first-ever solo exhibition - which opened rather inauspiciously on Wednesday evening at Galerie Janine Rubeiz in Raouche, just as a bomb blast rocked the coast less than a kilometer away - capture the incongruities and contradictions of Beirut without ever resorting to the cliched or the contrived. Through Khalil’s camera lens, Beirut appears in moments and fragments, a city that is lived and experienced through the intensity of its details and the chaos of its rhythms. Khalil deftly avoids iconic or emblematic shots that have elsewhere packaged the city as a delusional postcard, an exotic invitation or an object lesson in urban warfare. more.. ’Forging a new perception of art and its function’ - Jack Persekian Prolific curator of Sharjah Biennial argues for a more complex, Daily Star 6/13/2007 INTERVIEW INSIDE ART -- BEIRUT: The following interview is the second in a series for which The Daily Star will periodically seek out and sit down with various established cultural figures who work behind the scenes, provide a vital link between artists and audiences and who are more often that not the unsung heroes of their fields. Jack Persekian is one of the hardest working curators in the Arab world. Of Armenian descent, his family roots reach through generations in East Jerusalem, where he was born and raised and where he is still, to a certain extent, based. After studying in the United States and a stint as an accountant, Persekian opened the Anadiel Gallery in 1992. In the wake of the Madrid conference, which suggested the possibility of lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, Persekian organized... more.. Palestinian photo exhibition opens at Khudouri university Ma’an News Agency 3/27/2007 Nablus – Salfit - Under the auspices of the Palestinian Security Exchange, the travelling Palestinian photo exhibition of Jamal Al-Arouri was opened at the Khudouri University in Tulkarem, in the northern West bank, on Tuesday. In the exhibition, photographs of Palestine, as well as former Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat, under the Israeli siege, are shown. The exhibition commemorates the university’s annual festival, which celebrates several occasions such as international women’s day, mother’s day, Karama battle day and the birthday of Prophet Muhammad. This is the fourth leg of the travelling exhibition. It began at the Palestine technical college in central West Bank town of Ramallah, then went to An-Najah University in Nablus, north of the West bank and the third leg was in Jenin. [end] Jordanian artist publishes new monograph on her own terms Daily Star 2/24/2007 Mona Saudi: Forty Years in Sculpture’ defies conventional expectations -- REVIEW -- BEIRUT: The sculptress Mona Saudi has never adhered to conventional expectations. At the age of 17, Saudi fled Amman to pursue an artist’s life in Paris (traveling over land and by sea and stopping in Beirut, Cairo and Alexandria along the way) and left a letter for her father informing him of her decision. As a prolific mid-career artist, she opted to show her work in her home and garden instead of in galleries or cultural institutions, finding them wanting in terms of space and vision. And now, after four decades of hammering and chiseling stones into sensual forms that pare down complex emotions into essential gestures, she has chosen to self-publish her first substantial monograph rather than seek out an art press to assemble a proper catalogue raisonnee. more.. Taibeh architect to design Palestinian culture museum Ha’aretz 11/9/2006 Architect Senan Abdelqader... will be designing the Palestinian culture and art museum in Umm al-Fahm, after four years of negotiations with British architect Zaha Hadid did not bear fruit." We chose Abdelqader, an Arab architect whose work deals intelligently with both Arab culture and contemporary architecture, and who uses his architecture to explore Palestinian culture," says artist Said Abu Shakra, who initiated the museum and is among the founders of the contemporary art gallery in the city. Abdelqader teaches architecture at Tel Aviv University and Bezalel. He is 43 years old, a native of Taibeh who lives and works in Jerusalem. He studied architecture in Germany, where he lived for 15 years. When he returned to Israel in the 1990s, he began working at the office of Moshe Safdie. more.. Twenty-somethings set to display first fruits of drive to provide exposure for young artists of all kinds The Daily Star 9/27/2006 BEIRUT: The office of a very new, very young arts organization called Namleh At3a (an Arabic expressing meaning "an ant crossing by") is located in the off-Hamra Street restaurant De Prague - not by default but literally. Walk past the kitchen, out the back door and into the storage closet and there you will find Beatrice Harb, 23, and Nina Najjar, "I'll be 21 in November," nestled among the water bottles, wine cases and liquor racks. Established on August 10 and refined at a meeting on the graffiti-covered staircase next to the American University of Beirut two days later, Namleh's mission is to give young artists a chance to enter the local art scene by producing new work and getting it shown. The organization's first project is called "Shoot the War," which consists of short-film screenings and an exhibition opening tonight at Masrah al-Madina. more.. An Najah university launches photography exhibition Ma'an News 9/4/2006 Nablus - Ma'an – An Najah national university in Palestine has inaugurated a photography exhibition of work by the British artist Rich Wayls. The exhibition is titled "An image from Palestine" and its production has been a joint endeavour between the university and the British Council. The president of the university, Dr Rami Hamdalla and vice president for academic affairs, Dr Mahir An-Naesha, attended the inauguration with the manager of the British Council in Nablus, Muhammad Al-Kubari, and the artist himself. The artist said that his show is a part of a continuous project he started during his first visit to Palestine in 2003, in which he tried to study the privacy of the Palestinian life under occupation. more.. "A Lost Homeland" photo exhibition opens in Nablus today Ma'an News 8/7/2006 Nablus -- Ma'an-Alan Gignoux, a British artist is opening a photo exhibition today called "A Lost Homeland" in the Jaffa Cultural Centre in Nablus today under the auspices of the British CouncilThe photo exhibition will be held for one week. Head of the centre, Tayseer Nasrallah, said that the exhibition includes a collection of photos of Palestinian refugees and their families alongside current photos, as well as photos of the places they left in the 1948 war. [end] more.. London museum pulls off daring Mideast show The Daily Star 7/4/2006 'Word into Art' goes where others have feared to tread -- BEIRUT: Sometimes museums get it right and sometimes they get it wrong. "Word into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East," on view at the British Museum through September 2, is a striking example of the former. The show and (for those unlikely to get to London anytime soon) its accompanying catalogue succeed where so many major international institutions trying to grapple with Middle Eastern and Islamic art fail. With works by 75 different artists, "Word into Art" is the anchor for "Middle East Now," a full-blown season of cultural events unfolding in London over the next few months. The program, like the exhibition, is sponsored by Dubai Holding, a government-owned company that was established two years ago to consolidate Dubai's sprawling infrastructure and investment projects. more.. Taking a sense of place - and moving it The Daily Star 6/14/2006 With a nod to Godard, Ayman Baalbaki's 'Ici est Ailleurs' draws on a personal refugee experience -- Taking a sense of place - and moving it -- BEIRUT: A concrete tower block stretches to the sky. Across floor after climbing floor, colorful fabrics flap off of external balconies. The expressionistic blue sky behind the building breaks between brushstrokes to reveal a support made not from primed canvas but from floral textiles, visually echoing the building's strung laundry and rebellious drapes. Ayman Baalbaki's "Ciel charge des fleurs" is one of several paintings the 31-year-old artist has made based on the old Hilton hotel that once stood in Downtown Beirut. This latest version serves as the centerpiece for Baalbaki's first-ever solo show in Lebanon, on view at the Agial Art Gallery in Hamra through the end of the month. more.. Women's Handicraft Exhibition opens 15 June Ma'an News 6/12/2006 Ma'an-An exhibition of Palestinian women's handicrafts will be launched in Ramallah on Wednesday 15 June 2006. The exhibition will be held at the Mana' Centre in Al-Tireh in Ramallah. It is organised by the Middle East Partnership Initiative and CHF and sponsored by USAID. [end] more.. Gaza artist opens "Fathers" exhibition By Sami Abu Salem, Electronic Intifada 5/31/2006 Mr. Alain Rémy, the French Consul General in Jerusalem, and Moein Sadeq, the deputy general of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquity (MTA) joined many people, including children, to gather under fluttering Palestinian and French flags at the door of the little museum of Qasr Albasha in the old city of Gaza. They gathered not for politics, but to celebrate the new exhibition, "Fathers," by the Gazan artist Taysir Batniji, hosted at the museum under the patronage of the French Cultural Centre (CCF) and the MTA. The exhibition consists of 32 photographs of portraits of fathers that Batniji found hanging in various offices, stores, workshops, restaurants, cafes, and supermarkets in Gaza. Batniji said that he admired the portraits of fathers hung by their sons in many stores in Gaza. more.. Three Arab Painters in New York" to open in New York City By Maymanah Farhat, Electronic Intifada 5/31/2006 Three Arab Painters in New York is an art exhibition that features the work of three leading New York-based Arab painters. Samia Halaby, Sumayyah Samaha and Athir Shayota have been contributing to contemporary American art for decades and have exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the United States. Varied in style, technique, medium, scale and artistic influence, the three present a glimpse into the diverse and complex nature of the Arab World's art and visual culture. Three Arab Painters in New York provides the rare opportunity for the engagement of an American audience with Arab art that explores sociopolitical issues currently affecting the Arab world and its expatriates. Three Arab Painters in New York will be open from June 3 through June 24, 2006, at The Bridge Gallery, at 521 W. 26th St. in New York City... more.. Ottoman-era decorations give picture of Palestine's past www.thenational.ae
How Islamic inventors changed the world The Independent 3/11/2006 From coffee to cheques and the three-course meal, the Muslim world has given us many innovations that we take for granted in daily life. As a new exhibition opens, Paul Vallely nominates 20 of the most influential- and identifies the men of genius behind them -- 1 The story goes that an Arab named Khalid was tending his goats in the Kaffa region of southern Ethiopia, when he noticed his animals became livelier after eating a certain berry. He boiled the berries to make the first coffee. Certainly the first record of the drink is of beans exported from Ethiopia to Yemen where Sufis drank it to stay awake all night to pray on special occasions. By the late 15th century it had arrived in Mecca and Turkey from where it made its way to Venice in 1645. It was brought to England in 1650 by a Turk named Pasqua Rosee who opened the first coffee house in Lombard Street in the City of London. The Arabic qahwa became the Turkish kahve then the Italian caffé and then English coffee. more..
First Museum-quality Exhibition of Contemporary Palestinian Art to open in New York City on March 14th, 2006 Electronic Intifada 2/20/2006 February 20th, 2006 - Made in Palestine is the first museum-quality exhibition devoted to the contemporary art of Palestine to be held in the United States. It is a survey of work spanning three generations of Palestinian artists who live in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, parts of Israel, Syria, Jordan, and the United States. "A rare opportunity to view contemporary art from Palestine... a longer look at daily life in Palestine than our edited nightly news snapshots ever reveal.... The quality is exceptional. What these artists add to our minds' images of destruction and despair from this troubled region is an underlying sense of consciousness,strength and hope, both in themselves and their people. " - ArtvsHouston Gallery Review more..
"Made in Palestine" art exhibition to open in New York City Electronic Intifada/Al-Jisser 2/15/2006 Al-Jisser is proud to announce the opening of the "Made in Palestine" art exhibition in New York City. After two years of fundraising, community events and wonderful support, Al-Jisser has leased a space in a central gallery building in the heart of Chelsea in Manhattan's art world, to open and present this monumental exhibition to the art world, the community and the public. Please join with us in sharing in this great victory and in publicizing this exhibition far and wide. "Made in Palestine" will be opening at The Bridge 521 W. 26th St. , 3rd Floor, NYC The show will be open to the public between March 14, 2006 and April 22, 2006, on Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 11 AM to 6 PM daily. more..
Protest art - Now you see it, now they rip it down Ha'aretz 2/2/2006 The latest art gallery in Tel Aviv is the city itself. Alternately put up - and ripped down from - a half-dozen city sidewalk locales, is an exhibit of photographs depicting the weekly struggles between Israeli security forces and Palestinian, Israeli and international activists protesting the construction of the separation fence in the Palestinian village of Bil'in in the West Bank. "I didn't want photographs of soldiers beating people," one photographer said, his earnest conviction underlying the approach of the contributors (working under the name Activestills) to their public exhibit. "If I were submitting photographs to a newspaper, I would submit a picture like that. We didn't want to shock people, we wanted to make them think. " more..
Exploring the many meanings of hadith Daily Star 2/2/2006 Latest exhibition at Galerie Sfeir-Semler tackles the art of conversation -- BEIRUT: A South African industrialist stands on a beach to confront a vision of himself as a young boy. A series of 16 photographs serve as the sole traces left behind by a young photographer who disappears the night her apartment is consumed by fire. A young woman in a contemporary Cairene coffee shop repeats a monologue filmed over 30 years ago by Youssef Chahine. A lone male hustler in San Fernando, California, lies in bed facing an illuminated poster of a hunky pin-up boy. The relationship between a mother and daughter unfolds in an exchange of letters tethered to the documents of a disruptive conversation. more..
Artists push against Israeli wall 12/5/2005 Believing that art has the possibility to unite different cultures, more than 56 Palestinian, Israeli and American artists have combined pen, paint brush and camera, to protest against Israel's separation barrier. Eric Laursen, one of the organisers, says the Three Cities Against the Wall exhibition, held concurrently in Ram Allah, Tel Aviv and New York, showcases paintings, sculptures, photographic montages and audio-visual installations that depict the barrier as "a form of oppression". "The message is that the wall represents a form of oppression that destroys the humanity of both the oppressor and oppressed," Laursen told Aljazeera. net. more..
Artist from Arabia 10/31/2005 In a peaceful neighbourhood in the heart of the Qatari capital of Doha is a calm but productive artistic guest house. The house is intended to host Arab artists. It consists of spacious studios and workshops equipped with everything a painter or a sculpture might need. The house is sponsored by Sheikh Hasan bin Muhammad Al Thani, who is also a painter and professional photographer. more..
"Acts For Palestine" in New York Theaters WAFA 10/13/2005 NEW YORK, October 13, 2005 (WAFA)- Al Jisser Group, The Kazbah Project, and Nibras Theatre Collective will present, in New York City, "Acts or Palestine", an evening of one-act plays set in Palestine and written by Palestinian playwrights. The plays will be shown on Sunday, & Monday, October 16 & 17. "Acts for Palestine is an evening of one-act plays set in Palestine, written by Palestinian playwrights. These performances, organized to benefit Al Jisser's "Made in Palestine " art exhibition, will bring audiences the opportunity to experience Palestinian theatre - humorous, exhilarating, and thought-provoking", read a press release by Al Jisser Group. more..
Four one-act plays by Palestinian playwrights to support art exhibition Electronic Intifada 9/27/2005 The rarely heard voices of Palestinian playwrights come to New York City on October 16-17 for a unique and important theatrical benefit, Acts for Palestine, to support a visual art exhibition entitled Made in Palestine. Tragedy, seeping into daily life, fuels the Palestinian playwright at home and in exile. Cultural poignancy, the beloved ancient soil of literary tradition, and revolutionary hope combine to create literary expressions that grip the viewer as much as the playwright. Made in Palestine is an exhibition of the contemporary art of Palestine, featuring 23 Palestinian artists, curated by James Harithas of the Station Museum. The show has been rejected by over 90 museums since its initial opening in Houston because it is Palestinian and therefore labeled controversial. However, a group of dedicated individuals, Al Jisser Group, insist that New Yorkers must have the opportunity to see the exhibition and have been conducting an energetic grassroots fundraising campaign to make this exhibition a reality in New York City in Spring 2006. Actors, directors, playwrights, and producers have joined forces to create Acts for Palestine. The Kazbah Project and Nibras Arab American Theater Collective are collaborating with Al-Jisser Group to present to audiences four one-act plays by Palestinian playwrights selected after an open call. They reflect the vibrant creativity of Palestinian theater, in Palestine and in exile. All four plays will be performed at each of the four performances of Acts for Palestine. See also: VTJP hosts "Made in Palestine" more..
"Wall in Head Number 4", Palestinian Statue to be Presented in Germany WAFA 6/22/2005 KUFR KANNA, June 22, 2005, (WAFA)- German Ministry of Culture and Arts invited on Wednesday a Palestinian artist from Israel to participate in an international workshop for sculptural arts under the title "Stones at Borders" in Osnabrueck city on coming August. Palestinian artist, Ahmad Kan'an from Tamra village in Israel, told WAFA that participating in workshop is an opportunity to tell other peoples of the pains and sufferings of the Palestinian people. "I will make a statue that is called "Wall in Head number 4, which is an imitation of the Apartheid Wall that divides our country and transfers it into checkpoints that daily cause harm and violations to the autochthons of the land", Kan'an said. more..
Abuses at Abu Ghraib exhibited in Rome Show Middle East Online 6/17/2005 Colombian artist Botero flays abuses at Abu Ghraib in portraits, sculptures in Rome show. -- Colombian artist Fernando Botero, celebrated for his portraits and sculptures of well-rounded models, savagely attacked US abuses of human rights at Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib jail in an exhibition that opened in Rome Thursday. "War and injustice are present everywhere in the world. But I was very marked by these acts of torture, because the United States is the richest and most powerful country on the planet," Botero, 73, said. Forty five hitherto unseen pictures depict the horrors of Abu Ghraib in the exhibition in the Palazzo Venezia devoted to the past 15 years of Botero's work. more..
A Century of Israeli Art, on View in Berlin Forward 6/17/2005 Pogroms in Russia before and during the First World War [and Zionism] sent waves of Jewish emigrants fleeing to Palestine. Around the same time, Jewish painters from across Europe settled in Tel Aviv, where an arts scene flourished in the 1920s, planting the seeds of Jewish national identity. It is this compelling chapter that opens "The New Hebrews: A Century of Art in Israel," a context-heavy exhibition running through September at Berlin's Martin-Gropius-Bau museum. Sprawling in scope, the show examines political, historical and ideological forces that have shaped Israeli art over the past century. "Jewish art is not something you can put your finger on," said Doreet LeVitte Harten, the show's curator, who explained that people around the world misunderstand and misrepresent Israel. more..
"Celebrating the Life of Palestinian Women", Paints Exhibition in London WAFA 6/17/2005 LONDON, June 17, 2005 (WAFA)- the British Arts Council organized an exhibition of original prints showing works of Paula Cox well-known British painter, visualizing the daily lives and culture of Palestinian women. The exhibition, sponsored by the Arts Council and the A. M. Qattan Foundation, will start as of 22 June-5 July at the Kufa Gallery in London. Paula Cox has worked in association with Amnesty International as a Painter for human rights. In 2004 she was awarded an Arts Council grant to be artist in residence in Palestine. more..
In exhibition: The second coming of Rania Farsoun Daily Star 5/22/2005 Young Lebanese painter cans a marketing career and returns even stronger as an artist -- BEIRUT: "I wake up in the morning. I take my coffee. I turn off all the phones. I go into my atelier and I completely disconnect," says 30-something Lebanese artist Rania Farsoun, describing her painting process. She speaks at a rapid-fire pace, her staccato sentences punctuated by animated hand gestures. They end with a slow lowering of both hands, to illustrate the calm and steady concentration she attains in her studio. Farsoun is two days into her first solo exhibition, "Peau d'ame," on view through May 31 in Galerie Rochane's tiny, tasteful space tucked into a corner of Saifi Village. more..
Unknown face of Palestinian art San Francisco Chronicle 4/8/2005 Halaby is one of 23 artists whose work comprises "Made in Palestine," an exhibit that opens Thursday at San Francisco's Som-Arts Cultural Center. "Made in Palestine" was previously exhibited in Houston's Station Museum in 2003. Before that, contemporary Palestinian art had never been displayed in such an organized way in the United States, say "Made in Palestine" curators. -- "It's very, very, hard for a person who's not paying extraordinary attention to know that there is a very ancient society and culture among Palestinians that is both interesting and enriching," says Samia Halaby, a former professor at Yale University's School of Art.... "These artists are not doubting what they should paint. They're not saying, 'What's important in this world? How should I express myself? ' " Halaby says in a phone interview from her home. "They've got really urgent issues to deal with, and they're very painful and dramatic. " more..
"Made in Palestine", an Exhibit in San Francisco WAFA 4/4/2005 SAN FRANSICO, April, 4, 2005, (WAFA)- SFGATE site announced on Sunday that an exhibit under the name of "Made in Palestine," will open on Thursday through April 21 at San Francisco's Som-Arts Cultural Center. According to the site, the exhibit, which features Palestinian artists from the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Germany and the United States, raises an interesting question: Generally speaking, do Palestinian artists create work that's political in nature, or does their art exist outside of politics, resulting in paintings, sculpture and other objects that have no obvious connection to Palestinian life? more..
Learning to speak with paint Daily Star 3/18/2005 Rita Adaimy was a shy kid with bad grades. Then she found art -- BEIRUT: Imagine a young girl growing up in Beirut in the early 1970s. She's doing poorly in school and her parents are concerned. She shows little interest in any subject except art. She has difficulty expressing herself. She spends hours and hours drawing, hours and hours painting. When fighting breaks out in Beirut and Lebanon descends into civil war... more..
All things considered: Golnaz Fathi on art in troubled times Daily Star 2/21/2005 Trained formally as a calligrapher, this 32-year-old Iranian painter breaks all the rules -- BEIRUT: Golnaz Fathi is picking small bits of shattered glass from the top of her head. It is late in the afternoon on Feb. 14. A few hours earlier, a massive explosion ripped through former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's motorcade. Fathi, an artist who is in town for an exhibition of her paintings at Espace SD, is understandably shaken.... She is firm in her belief that conditions in her country have improved, especially for artists, over the past five years of President Mohammad Khatemi's rule. more..
A fresh 'Canvas' for Arab artists Daily Star 2/11/2005 New magazine promoting Middle East art and culture hits news stands with a mission -- BEIRUT: "If a fraction of what is spent on weapons was used on artists it would make a huge difference to the way Arabs are perceived in the rest of world. " So says accomplished Lebanese painter, sculptor and writer Etel Adnan, 79, referring to modern Arab leaders in a recent interview in Canvas, the latest magazine from the Middle East to celebrate the region's art. more..
Iraqi artist reflects a lost generation in a time of chaos Daily Star 1/25/2005 Saadi al-Kaabi, still based in Baghdad, talks of life and work under occupation, and his fears for his country's young people -- BEIRUT: As a prominent member of the second generation of modernist artists in Iraq, Saadi al-Kaabi is lucky. Born in Najaf in 1937, he came of age at a time when the arts in Iraq were celebrated, when painters were put on a pedestal and promoted, and when young talents were given resources and funds and travel grants to develop their skills. More basically, Kaabi has lived and worked in Baghdad for more than 40 years. His studio lies in a posh residential district. more..
Painting politics and Palestine Daily Star 11/30/2004 Samia Halaby has created a visual language of abstraction rooted in radical social movements -- BEIRUT: With her silver hair pulled back into an artful knot, her burgundy blouse, her smart back pants and her sensible scarf draped just so, Samia Halaby has the look of a librarian.... But no, here's Halaby, one of the most renowned Palestinian-American painters working today, sitting with hands folded and legs crossed, speaking patiently, even soothingly, about her art, her life, her work and the historical development of abstract expressionism from its roots in the 20th century's more radical social movements to its future potential as a means by which to capture the essence of contemporary urban life. more..
British-Palestinian artist wins prestigious Swiss prize Daily Star 11/19/2004 BEIRUT: The British-Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum received the most valuable art prize in Europe at a ceremony in Zurich last night. The 120,000 Swiss Frank prize (just over $100,000) is awarded by the Swiss Roswitha Haftmann Foundation every one to three years to a living artist whose work is of outstanding importance. The three previous winners have been American sculptor Walter de Maria, Austrian artist Maria Lassnig and Canadian photo-artist Jeff Wall. more..
Exhibition Reflects Beauty of Islamic Art in Palaces, Mosques Daily Star 7/28/2004 The Muslim Empire once stretched from the Atlantic Ocean, in the west, to India and the borders of China, in the east. Over many centuries, the artistic traditions of these different regions merged into an identifiably Islamic style. One thousand years of Islamic art is now on display in Washington. Faiza Elmasry writes: The Palace and Mosque exhibit at the National Gallery of Art features a wide range of visual expression, from paintings and textiles, to carpets, metalwork and glass. more..
Al Maghtas: New Magazine for Christian Arabs Come And See 7/23/2004 For the first time in decades Christian Arabs in Jordan and Palestine have their own magazine. The first edition of the 40 page glossy color magazine. Al Maghtas (the baptismal) was produced in Amman this week featuring interviews, articles, and even some controversy. more..
Unexpected international success confirms validity of artistic life Daily Star 12/27/2003 Salwa Zeidan takes 4th prize at contemporary art festival in Italy -- It was the last day of the fourth International Biennale of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy. Everyone was busy at the awards ceremony, but Salwa Zeidan didn’t feel like joining the crowd. Instead, she decided to take down her paintings from the wall reserved for her and leave ahead of time. But then suddenly, she felt she at least had to take a look at what was happening in the assembly hall. "I left my painting there on the floor and as soon as I entered the ceremony hall, I heard my name being called out: Salwa Zeidan, winner of the fourth prize for the painting category. ” more..
From iconic visuals to newspaper ‘blabla,’ visual esthetics triumph in artist’s work Daily Star 11/17/2003 Painter experiments with design, composition, color and media in creating the ‘speaking’ canvass -- Relaxed and looking like someone who knows a joke, George Merheb sits among his latest creations. His paintings are in earth tones; whites and greys with few color accents give an antiquated look. Merheb says they are often treated in a “frescoic” way. This is because the artist is also a restorer. After graduating in Fine Arts at the Lebanese University, he studied restoration of historical monuments and frescoes in Italy. Since 1988, he has pursued both professions. more..
Ghada Saghieh shows beauty with plenty of insight Daily Star 10/29/2003 Artist’s affectionate portraits of women in Lebanese society are tinged with melancholy -- “I would like to bring Betty Boop to life,” says Ghada Saghieh. The incomparable animated cartoon, with her baby-girl voice, bubbly curves and cutesy sexiness, couldn’t be further from the silent, stylized women who drift elegantly through Saghieh’s paintings. But this kind of declaration, a wild wish stated strongly and without a waver, is completely characteristic of Saghieh’s talk. It’s the day after her opening at the Alice Mogabgab Gallery in Gemaizeh and the artist has busted into the gallery ranting and raving, jumping around from topic to topic and spewing forth with a litany of cutting observations and passionate statements about the lives of women in contemporary Lebanese society, a topic that lies at the heart of Saghieh’s artistic work. more..
Prominent American Painter Alowayts in Solidarity with Palestinian People Palestine Media Center 8/9/2003 Prominent American painter Mike Alowayts crossed thousands of miles to the Israeli-occupied territories to express his solidarity with the Palestinian people with his huge paintings and to voice his strong opposition to the Apartheid Separation Wall Israel is building on Palestinian- owned lands. more..
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