The Public Programme (PP)

During the reporting period, the programme, in cooperation with the Communication and Public Relations Team, conducted four tours within the Q-Tours programme targeting 90 people from different areas. Also, a t-shirt and a tote bag were designed, with 1,500 distributed at the opening of the new building. In cooperation with the Culture and Arts Programme, the New Building Events Programme for 2019 was designed and 1,500 copies were printed and distributed at the opening.

In the Dark Room programme, curator Maika Mia Hoona—curator of short films at The Berlinale, the Berlin Film Festival—collaborated to select films for the short film programme. Two sets of short films (80 minutes per group) were screened and associated with the theme of the exhibition, entitled Subcontracted Nations, with five screenings for each group. In addition, the programme cooperated with curator Mai Odeh for the feature films programme that was divided into two programmes: the mobile cinema programme, during which five films were screened in marginalised areas; and the screening programme in the building, where seven films were screened. During the programme, director Hind Shoufani was hosted at the Foundation during the screening of the film Journey in Migration, and artist Maher Abi Samra remotely gave an artist’s talk for the movie Sheoeyin Kenna.

Scenes from the Ottoman Empire was screened in cooperation with the EYE Museum in the Netherlands, accompanied by music performance by students from the Edward Said Conservatory, in the presence of 66 people. The Square, directed by Robin Ostlund, was also screened accompanied by an interactive installation with food by the artist Mirna Bamia.

During the reporting period, the book Eleven Tales of Palestinian Refugees was launched, in cooperation with the Institute for Palestine Studies. A reading session was organised for Suhail Matar, and a poetry reading by Omar Ziada for his collection, Blind Dogs in a Picnic. A “mail chat” was organised—a reading of correspondence between John Berger and his son Yves, presented by Yves Berger, Tania Nasser, Mahmoud Abu Hashhash and Jules Linglin, as well as a dialogue on John Berger's experience in Palestine, presented by Maria Nadoti and Rima Erythema. A series of lectures entitled "Ways of Seeing" was held on visual culture by Rana Barakat, Adania Shibli, Yazid Anani and Vera Tamari. A symposium entitled “In the Aftermath of the Impossible” was organised in cooperation with the House of Cultures, with the participation of Zainab Chilek, Salim Tamari, Yazid Anani, Abdul Rahman Shabana, Rania Stephan, Shahana Rajani and Zahra Malikani. A public lecture was also organised for Zainab Schillick at Birzeit University.

As part of the Foundation’s participation at the Qalandiya International Biennial for the year 2018, the Public Programme, in partnership with Birzeit University Museum, launched “Cities Exhibition 6: Lydda - A Garden Disremembered” with the participation of four researchers and six artists. A number of supporting activities were held for the exhibition, including nine lectures around the exhibition’s theme and a symposium on the city of Lod under the title "Lydda Talks" with the participation of Hadeel Yaqoub, Manal Masalha, Razan Khalaf (via Skype) and Tariq Khalaf. Through a grant from the Volkswagen Foundation, the Public Programme worked on the "Solidarity Manifesto Project," which forms a research part of the Foundation’s activities in the Qalandiya International. It dealt with the dismantling of the concept of solidarity through dialogues with various community groups, with the aim of drafting a statement around solidarity in 2019.

The opening exhibition was created in the context of the inaugural exhibition of the new Cultural Centre under the title “Subcontracted Nations.” It included 53 artworks with the participation of 66 local and international artists and is considered the largest in the history of exhibitions held in Palestine. Four talks were organised by artists Susan Bush, MTL group, Alexandra Sofia Handal and Tom Bogart. Three debates were coordinated and implemented in cooperation with Najwan Bayrakdar linked to the exhibition's theme, namely: the criteria of normalisation and freedom of expression, the impact of artistic projects on local policies and the role of artists and intellectuals in the national struggle. On the margin of the exhibition “New Visions Collective” were honoured.

As part of the events of the exhibition programme, the exhibition, “A Sight of Disjunction” was loaned to the Tishreen Association in Tayibe; the exhibition was open for a month. Two chapters from the “On Women in Revolutions” exhibition were collected, in partnership with the Institute of Women's Studies at Birzeit University, Gallery 1 and the Ramallah Film Club, and were exhibited at the Birzeit University Museum. The YAYA 2018 exhibition was also created in partnership with the Culture and Arts Programme.

The Recycled programme for the year 2018 witnessed the launch of its second phase, where four designers worked on the production of their collections. The programme was concluded with a fashion show in the context of the opening activities of the new Cultural centre with the attendance of more than 300 people.

The second phase of the Wednesdays Residencies was completed in partnership with the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center under the title “The Secret Stairs”; it constituted a series of performances that opened in late February 2018.

Nine artists were invited to participate in the “Subcontracted Nations” exhibition, where the artists participated in the opening exhibition, conducting press interviews and welcoming the public, and some of them gave lectures on their work in the foundation. Also, the artist Blake Show was invited to present an interactive light show at the opening of the new building, and the artist donated the work to the Foundation. An open invitation to the residency programme entitled “Ways of Travelling” for the year 2019 was launched, and 82 applications were received from different countries for the three residencies: Al-Qattan Studio, Culture in Herak and Research and Creative Writing. Four participants were selected in the residency programme to work from April to December 2019.

Ten concerts were organised since the opening of the building, including: “Mushahadat” by composer Bishara Khel from Nazareth, a concert by the rap group DAM, a performance by Bob "Drama" from the United States for the Palestinian musician Nael Youssef and Lovia Rosa Bella, a music performance by Ramses Kassis Entitled “Dajal,” a concert for Faraj Suleiman entitled “Love Without a Story,” a concert by Mina Ensemble “Habayeb,” a concert by Nawa Ensemble, “Wink” by the Siraj Choir, a concert “Ramallah Syndrome” by Istiwanat, Shadi Zaqtan, Ahmed Mazaro , Noor Al-Raei, and Apo & The Apostles band.

Within the activities of the Mashhad programme, during the reporting period, seven performances were hosted, including: a theatre piece entitled “Almoghtariban” by Yes theatre, a contemporary dance show entitled “Bound” by YAA SAMAR! dance theatre, a children’s puppet performance entitled “Tktouka and Scott” by Tony Haddad, a theatre piece entitled “The Zoo Story” for Eid Aziz and two theatre performances of “Taha” by Amer Hlehel—one in Arabic and the other in English.