The Mosaic Rooms
The total number of visitors to the gallery during the reporting period is 5,719. This marks a 14% increase on last year’s figure. In addition to 478 visitors attended external events, held outside of The Mosaic Rooms.
Key conclusions of the audience survey took place in November 2017 showed the majority of our visitors express a strong interest in Arab culture and politics. The Mosaic Rooms have an ethnically diverse audience, with a significantly higher proportion of visitors identifying as Arab compared with other London arts institutions. The most represented age group of visitors is the 25-35’s, which is similar to other smaller contemporary art institutions. The main visitor motivation was ‘to be intellectually stimulated’ with majority saying they would recommend us and rating their experience as ‘very good’.
This brief report shows the main activities held in the Mosaic Rooms during the period from (1 April – 31 December, 2017)
Still – Judy Price
7/04/17—18/06/17
In this exhibition, UK based artist Judy Price presented a unique and complex body of work focused on Palestine. Two multi-screen installations and a photographic piece reflected in very different ways on Palestine’s colonial past and the current lived experience of occupation. This exhibition’s subject was timely; 2017 marks 100 years since the Balfour declaration, the British colonial policy between 1917-1948 which resulted in the mass displacement of the Palestinian nation and people.
Shift – Dana Awartani, Reem al-Nasser and Zahra Al-Ghamdi
1/07/17—2/09/17
The UK debut of three young female artists from Saudi Arabia. In Shift, Dana Awartani, Zahrah Al-Ghamdi and Reem Al-Nasser responded to their experiences of accelerated change in their country, in the built environment of their cities and in domestic spaces. Caught between a future driven by globalisation and rapid urban development, and a past at risk of erasure, the artists consider their own position, and reflect on what is important to them as individuals and as part of the wider collective. Part of Shubbak.
The show has a long title that I don’t recall anymore – Pascal Hachem
15/09/17—02/12/17
This ambitious exhibition of new work by Lebanese artist Pascal Hachem is composed of new sculptural installations in which Hachem interrogates his experiences of his home city of Beirut. Faced with life in a city of both daily instability and overwhelming fragmentation how does an individual or society remember their past? Part of London Design Festival.
To accompany each exhibition there was an associated artist/curator talk or tour: Judy Price was in conversation with art historian Lucy Reynolds and editor of Ibraaz Anthony Downey; Zahra Al-Ghamdi, Dana Awartani and Reem Al-Nasser were in conversation with Tate Modern’s Vassilis Oikonomopoulos; Pascal Hachem was in conversation with artist and curator Asad Raza.
Literary and other events included a sound performance by Egyptian artist and experimental musician Khaled Kaddal in response to Judy Price’s exhibition.
A book launch with Ilan Pappe of ‘Ten Myths About Israel’; and a discussion with authors Roger Hardy and Dina Matar on ‘The Oral History of Imperialism, Palestine under the British Mandate Period’.
A musical performance and talk entitled ‘In and Out’ with acclaimed pianist Saleem Ashkar (Palestine) and visual artist Michèle Vanvlasselaer (Belgium) who discussed the development of their work in and outside of the Middle East.
Oxford students presented a multimedia discussion about their discoveries tracing their university’s role in the Balfour Declaration in an event entitled ‘The Balfour Declaration, An Invisible History Workshop’ moderated by Karma Nabulsi
A panel discussion on the impact of colonial practices on natural environments, with a special focus on Israel and Palestine with Yara Sharif, Muna Dajani and Ruba Salih
artists Judy Price, Sarah Wood and Oraib Toukan discussed their work with archival film with Eugene Rogan
CAABU presented a talk by author Ross Burns who discussed Aleppo and the rich history of this important city, from its earliest history through to the modern era
Playwright and author Hassan Abdulrazzak presented a dramatized reading of his new play Maroon
Fiona Fox and Matilda Pye discussed their experiences over the last year working with six aspiring Saudi women curators, developing their skills and experience within the cultural sector;
Vali Malhouji discussed Archaeology of the Final Decade, his curatorial project to excavate the remains of two acts of cultural destruction in post-revolutionary Iran, a festival banned for cultural decadence and a photo archive of Tehran’s red-light district
A presentation by artist Anne Senstad on founding Time Beyond Place – The Cultural Bridge
Omniya Abdel Barr, co-founder of the Save Cairo campaign discussed the richly varied architectural heritage of this dynamic city and the current fight to prevent the further destruction of its memories and what remains of its past in an event entitled ‘The Cairo We Lost’
Elias & Yousef Anastas discussed the work of their studio AAU Anastas in transforming the use of stone in Palestine to create sustainable contemporary architecture
Artist Pascal Hachem gave a talk at the V&A exploring his design practise and the cultural rituals of his homeland through Lebanese flatbread – considering it as a design object. Hachem also interrogated the theme of memory in a live performance amidst the works of his solo exhibition, the performance was entitled ‘The performance has a short title;
Dr Shereen El Feki led a panel discussion on the changing roles of men in Arab societies with panellists Nadje Al-Ali, Amrou Al-Kadhi and Kareem Shaheen
Curator Mohamed Elshahed discussed ‘The Modern Egypt Project’, a British Museum initiative to collect objects from present day Egypt;
Maan Abu Taleb launched his new book ‘All the Battles’
Curator Rose Lejeune and academic Rebecca Gordon led a performative tour of Pascal Hachem’s exhibition in an event entitled ‘How to Clean the Dust from the Artwork’
As part of Shubbak Festival, The Mosaic Rooms organised Survival of the Artist at the British Museum. A day long symposium of talks divided into three sessions with international panellists and a specially conceived performance it asked how art and artists in the Arab world can survive and respond in times of conflict and censorship.
Art installation
As part of Shubbak Festival, The Mosaic Rooms presented a live installation by Zahrah Al-Ghamdi in the Great Court of the British Museum. The artist created the floor based artwork on site in the morning in front of a live audience. It was then left on display for the rest of the day before being removed.
Artist live project
The Mosaic Rooms hosted three nights of Dar Al Sulh, a unique supper club by the artist Michael Rakowitz, in collaboration with Regine Basha and Dr Ella Habiba Shohat. The Mosaic Rooms’ garden was transformed into a dining space for an al-fresco three-course meal featuring the artist Michael Rakowitz’s Iraqi-Jewish grandmother’s recipes. Using ingredients, combinations of flavours, and tableware specific to a population that are no longer served in Iraq today, these dishes reflect a period when “Jews were once Arabs too”. In between each course Michael Rakowitz, Regine Basha and Dr. Ella Habiba Shohat provided personal reflections, toasts and interventions.
Film screenings
Artist Bryony Dunne discussed her film Bring Them Back Alive, and photographic exploration, Seeds From The Zoo, of the history of Egypt’s Giza Zoo with Dr Shela Sheikh.
A screening of short films by Saudi Arabian actor/director Ahd followed by a Q&A with Sheyma Buali;
There was a screening of ‘The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni’, a film by Rania Stephan;
To mark the 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, Karl Sabbagh screened his new documentary ‘Palestine: The Reality’;
Artist Mohamad Hafeda screening his new film ‘Sewing Borders’ and led a discussion on displacement in Lebanon and the Middle East with Laila Alodaat, Camillo Boano and Michaela Crimmin.
Workshops
Artist Richard Henry held a workshop on Islamic Geometric Art.
Music
Sudanese band The Scorpios played an intimate gig as part of London African Film Festival.
Supper Clubs
Lebanese chef Sarkis Nehme presented a special supper club themed on sustainability.
Lates
As part of Shift, the Friday late was a takeover by Saudi artist Ahaad Alamoudi who presented a dance performance and video screening as well as a DJ set by DJ Manara; as part of the London Design Festival Pascal Hachem’s exhibition stayed open late under the Brompton Late Night Opening programme; to celebrate the last weekend of the Pascal Hachem’s exhibition ‘The show has a long title that I don’t recall anymore’ and of the 2017 programme, there was another late opening with a live DJ set by Man Abu Taleb.
The Mosaic Rooms’ urban garden was once again part Open Garden Squares Weekend. This year it featured a special food pop by Bliss St. Serving up freshly made saj and was visited by 595 visitors.
Residencies
During this reporting period there were the following residencies: Pianist Saleem Ashkar stayed with us in May 2017 for his performance In and Out with Michèle Vanvlasselaer, architects Elias and Yousef Anastas stayed with us in May 2017 as they prepared for their installation While We Wait at The V&A; artist Pascal Hachem stayed with us ahead and during his solo exhibition The show has a long title that I don’t recall anymore; artist Praneet Soi stayed with us in November 2017.