6 June 2018
A workshop was organised at the the Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, Italy, bringing together 10 shortlisted artists for Young Artist of the Year Award 2018 (YAYA 18) competition.
Held under the supervision of artist Emily Jacir, the workshop took place from 1 to 10 June 2018.
The workshop featured individual and group encounters with artists and Nisreen Naffa’, Head of the Arts and Literature Unit / Culture and Arts Programme (CAP) of the A. M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF). Discussions revolved around artists’ projects and arrangements to produce and exhibit their works at YAYA 18. These works will be showcased at the AMQF Gallery in early November 2018.
Jacir presened her art productions over the past 20 years as well as participation in international exhibitions and biennales. In the course of the workshop, artists presented the development of their art projects until the current stage. They discussed their projects with their colleagues and with the YAYA 18 curator.
Mahmoud Abu Hashhash, CAP Director, stated that the workshop aimed to evaluate, enrich and improve YAYA 18 participants’ works and provide a channel of communication between participants and with world famous artists.
“Participants benefited from, and met with, the experience of world-class artists. They have also present in, and benefited from, an art environment that is close to their works. E-encounters had already been held with participants since they were shortlisted.” Abu Hashhash explained.
In relation to the exhibition theme, Abu Hashhash said: “With regard to the ideas of art works, the artists are not confined to any restrictions. The competition is free. The themes of art works are mostly related to the Palestinian political and national context. The majority of participants are refugees or Palestinians of the Diaspora.”
According to Abu Hashhash, the exhibition will feature a variety of works, such as art installations and sculptures, which generally reflect contemporary art practices.
Abu Hashhash stated that the AMQF and Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto, Italy, have been partners for some 15 years. Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto is one of the most important art institutions around the world. It is home of a number of schools of art, including the Unidee – University of Ideas.
Abu Hashhash stated that “the AMQF offers an annual grant to an artist to participate in an artist residency programmes at the Unidee – University of Ideas.”