Background
The A.M. Qattan Foundation is engaging through its Residency Programme with eight artists between 2020 – 2024. After the launch of “Ways of traveling Residency” in 2019, it was quite obvious to the Foundation that the provision of short-term residency stays at the Foundation is not enough to enable artists for a deeper understanding of the Palestinian context and eventually the way it reflects in the evolvement of their projects. In some cases, that occurred with other partners, short term residencies yielded quick reactionary projects which were designed based on obvious stereotypical political and social topics that are causal and lacked dialectic complexities. Some of these projects that were not given enough time to brew have traveled to global art spaces claiming an insightful representation of Palestine.
Banking on the past experiences the A.M. Qattan Foundation has sought to accumulate the knowledge produced through these residencies through applying a new direction to its Residency programme for the next four years. The new direction focuses on a long-term research that engage with local partnerships and yield a public talk a joint publication and finally an exhibition at the Foundation in 2024.
The four years residency programme entitled “Aspects of madness” is inspired from the works of Foucault “Madness and Civilization” will be divided into several phases, whereby artist travel to Palestine for short visits, based on their projects and schedules. Each phase will last for one month. At the end of the four phases, artists will contribute to an exhibition that will compound the research questions, experiences, and knowledge accumulated and scrutinized within the four years of residency. The chapters below where named after the sections in Foucault’s “Madness and civilization: A history of insanity in the age of reason [1]”. This is meant as an allegoric take on the multiple conditions of confinement and “insanity” in the Bantustan of Palestine. It can also be viewed ironically pertaining to the definition of madness within socially and politically structured confinements that exist within the Palestinian archipelago, such as schools, camps, prisons, zoos, parks, and notwithstanding the collective conferment in the form of Oslo Interim Agreement, curfews, closures, segregation wall, settlements, gated communities, history, nationalism, sexuality and the recently covid-19.
These titles are only guidance and not necessarily biding to themes that might be followed by artists. This is a preliminary document of the project that is subjected to development in due time.
Chapter I – The Great Confinement 2021
During this phase, artists are asked to research the within the multiple confinements, observe, interrogate or and seek questions on its conditions, intimacies and exceptions. To avoid what has been mentioned above as political tourism, artists are asked to identify local partners and build networks with locals, intellectuals, artists, academics, and institutions. Such networks o=and communication artists will better understand the local context, and thus, will have the chance to rethink their research questions based on their close observations. By the end of this stage, artists are expected to deliver their amended proposal for the work and their preliminary research methodology.
The A. M. Qattan Foundation will provide accommodation at its premises, a studio space, travel expenses, a lump sum of $1,400 for a month which covers fees, and all research expenses. The Foundation will also provide contacts and guidance at any time.
Chapter II – The Insane 2022
The insane here doesn’t only mean the state of exception, but also the alternative knowledge that madness and insanity might produce in collision with the multiple conditions of confinement and its parameters. Artists will have the opportunity uncover knew grounds and explore new experiences in relationship to their topics. At this stage the research is more formulated and grafted with new directions and clues vis-à-vis building solid arguments and critical questions. Documentary, narrational and archival material is compiled through visits, interviews, interventions and small experiments. At the end of this phase there is duel, whereby artists are expected to partake in a public talk where they demonstrate their research findings, question and material they gathered in conversation with a local partner who comes from a knowledge milieu that might indicate insanity.
The A. M. Qattan Foundation will provide accommodation at its premises, a studio space, travel expenses, a lump sum of $1,400 for a month which covers fees, and all research expenses. The public talk’s expenses will also be covered by the Foundation at this stage. The Foundation will also provide contacts and guidance at any time.
Chapter III – Passion and Delirium 2023
This is the bilingual publication phase. The research material gathered from all participating artists is compiled in a publication that orates the passion and delirium in the multiple confinements and communities investigated by artists.
To those artists who will be visiting Palestine again, the A. M. Qattan Foundation will provide accommodation at its premises, travel expenses, a lump sum of $1,400 for a month which covers fees, and all research expenses. For the publication, the Foundation will provide a graphic designer who will work closely with the artists, translation and editing services, and the production of an online and printed publication.
Chapter IV – Aspects of Madness 2024
‘Aspects of Madness’ is the working title of the exhibition that accommodates the works of the participating artists. In this final phase, each artist is encouraged to produce their work in Palestine. The exhibition will be opened to the public for 3 - 4 months and artists are encouraged to design together with the curator suitable community activities around their works.
To those artists who will be visiting Palestine again, the A. M. Qattan Foundation will provide accommodation at its premises, travel expenses, a lump sum of $1,400 for a month which covers fees, and all research expenses. For exhibition each artist will get a budget of $2,500 to produce their work and all its requirements in the exhibition space. The Foundation will cover all typical expenses related to technical assistance, printing, equipment, and opening ceremonies.
[1] Madness and civilization: A history of insanity in the age of reason. M Foucault. Vintage, 1988.