05 Oct 2009

ArtSchool Palestine & Palestinian Art Court al-Hoash present The Other Shadow of the City

The Other Shadow of the City is an international visual arts exhibition programme that draws inspiration from the city of Jerusalem and its changing urban structure. The exhibition takes the viewer to places outside the spiritual and holy Old City to urban locations that, despite their importance in shaping the contemporary urban city, have been rarely referenced or addressed in literature and art.

The exhibition unravels Jerusalem as an urban structure with all its physical, social, economic and political complexity, demonstrating how urban space is divided, conquered, abandoned and occupied again.

The Other Shadow of the City is a result of long term and comprehensive progarmme of partnerships between ArtSchool Palestine and the Palestinian Art Court – al Hoash. It features 26 artworks of international, Arab and Palestinian contemporary artists working in painting, sculpture, video, film, installation, text and photography. The artists set the stage for discussion on a number of themes, such as mobility, visions of utopia/dystopia, surveillance, history and memory, gated communities and natural environments.

The exhibition is also a culmination of ArtSchool Palestine's 08/09 residency program organized in cooperation with al Hoash Gallery where 15 artists from the UK, Germany, Denmark, France, Morocco, Algeria and Jordan were invited to pursue new projects or research in locations throughout Palestine.

For The Other Shadow of the City nine artists were invited, these are: Anna Boggon, Michael Baers, Sarah Beddington, Zoulikha Bouabdellah, Maj Hasager, Samah Hijawi, Bouchra Khalili Jakob Jakobsen and Oraib Toukan.

In addition, the exhibition provided an opportunity for Arab and Palestinian artists, who don't have access to the city of Jerusalem, to respond to their desires and dreams – testifying that ideas about cities are not only formed at a conscious level, but are also the product of unconscious desires. The city as a space becomes both the material and lived space as well as a site of fantasy and imagination.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of events, including artists' talks and workshops.

Touring Schedule:
9 November 2009 at Al Mahatta Gallery - Ramallah
22 December 2009 at Rafia Gallery - Damascuss
The exhibition will tour to London and Paris in 2010, venues tbc


PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
Mohammad al Hawajri – Palestine, Jawad Al Malhi – Palestine, Buthayna Ali – Syria, Rafat Assad – Palestine, Michael Baers – USA, Sarah Beddington – UK, Rana Bishara – Palestine, Anna Boggon – UK, Zoulikha Bouabdellah – Algeria/France, Raouf Haj Yihya – Palestine, Rula Halawani – Palestine, Alexandra Handal - Palestine, Shuruq Harb – Palestine, Maj Hasager – Denmark, Samah Hijawi - Jordan, Jakob Jakobsen – Denmark, Bouchra Khalili – Morocco/France, Yazan Khalili – Palestine, Sliman Mansour – Palestine, Kevork Mourad – Syria, Riyadh Neama – Iraq, Larissa Sansour – Palestine, Nawras Shalhoub – Palestine, Oraib Toukan – Jordan, Munir Waked – Palestine, Mohanad Yaqubi – Palestine

The exhibition will take place in a number of VENUES across Jerusalem, these are:
Palestinian Art Court - al Hoash - Zaituna Building, 7 Zahra Street - Jerusalem
French Cultural Center - 21, Salah Eddin Street – Jerusalem
Palestinian National Theater –Al Hakawati - Nuzha Building, Abu Obaida Street - Jerusalem
Young Women's Christian Association- Ibn Jubayr Street, Sheikh Jarrah – Jerusalem
Jerusalem Hotel - Nablus Road

Organized by: ArtSchool Palestine and the Palestinian Art Court al-Hoash

In partnership with: British Council, French Cultural Center, International Academy of Arts - Palestine, Jerusalem Hotel, Palestinian National Theatre/Hakawati, Rafia Gallery - Damascus and The Young Women's Christian Association - YWCA

Sponsored by: Palestine Investment Fund

Supported by: A.M. Qattan Foundation, Consulate General of Belgium, Ford Foundation, Consulate General of Spain-Spanish Cooperation Office, Dr. Nabil Qaddumi, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Representative Office of Denmark, and Zina Jardaneh.