This document provides information on partner organisations that are supported as part of the first-round of funding in the VAFF project. Projects are classified below according to their relevance to the main outcomes of the VAFF project. However, it is worth mentioning that all projects are responsive to the “enhanced organisational capacity and sustainability of visual arts organisations” outcome, but only three out of eight partners’ organisations are listed under this outcome, due to their direct relevance compared to others.
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Outcome#1: Enhanced organisational capacity and sustainability of visual arts organisations
1. Dar Jacir Art Collective in Bethlehem and Palestine Studies Institute-IPS/Ramallah
The Dar Jacir art collective is a local, grass-roots and artist-run community initiative. The VAFF grant will support “Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research” in its establishment and programming phases, which will include a series of art exhibitions, workshops, master classes, seminars, and will provide residency opportunities to local and international artists,
intellectuals, musicians, and filmmakers. Through this project, part of the Jacir’s Ottoman archives will be mapped and digitised to be available for the researchers and artists. The project is implemented under the umbrella of IPS.For more information on Dar Jacir please visit their Facebook page.
Project budget: SEK 2,241,903 equivalent to US$255,691
Project period: January 2018-July 2019
Workshop at Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research "On the question of making art in cities under siege: exploring the intersection of hospitality and hostility". Photo credit: Rula Halawani 2018
2. Sakiya Art/Science/Agriculture/Ein Qiniya
Sakiya is a community initiative co-founded by architect and curator Sahar Qawasmi and the artist and filmmaker Nida Sinnokrot. Through this grant, Sakiya will be inaugurated as a new art space that will integrate the visual arts, farming, archiving and the production of knowledge. A residency programme will also be created - the first of its kind in Palestine.
The project is situated on a 16,000m2 plot of land in Ein Qiniya. The grant will contribute to renovating one of two buildings on the project site, both of which date back to 1917. The grant will also support the sustainability of Sakiya by enhancing its resources’ mobilisation programme and the development of its strategic plan. To learn more about this initiative please visit Sakiya’s facebook page.
Project budget: SEK 2,236,095 equivalent to US$255,029
Project period: January 2018-July 2019
One of the old two buildings in Sakiya’s site. Photo credit: Sakiya archive
3. The Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre/Ramallah
Khalil Sakakini is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation dedicated to the promotion of arts and culture in Palestine. Known as the Sakakini Centre, it was founded in 1996 and is located in Ramallah in a restored traditional mansion. To know more about the Centre please visit their Facebook page.
“Infrastructure, as a Cultural Project” aims to improve the quality of the Centre’s activities, fostering its ability to attract wider audiences and implementing a resource mobilisation programme in order to strengthen the Centre’s institutional capacities and its sustainability. Besides renovating the Centre’s infrastructure, the grant will also support the implementation of the visual art programme, the development of its strategic plan and its financial and administrative systems.
Project budget: SEK 1,881,331 equivalent to US$214,567
Project period: December 2017-May 2019
The Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center’s building. Photo credit: A. M. Qattan Foundation’s archive
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Outcome #2: Art education programmes, learning and research opportunities are further developed and made available for art students, artists, and professionals.
4. Birzeit University/Faculty of Arts and Music
The BA in Contemporary Visual Art is an interdisciplinary programme that provides a unique learning opportunity for students in drawing, painting, sculpture, 3D, installation, photography, video, film, sound, performance and social intervention, as well as historical and theoretical studies. The programme will be taught by prominent local and international visiting lecturers and artists and provide a comprehensive educational experience through their different perspectives on contemporary art practices. Until all teaching staff are appointed, the programme has been initiated with 10 students. The building that will house the art and music programmes is expected to be inaugurated in April 2019. To read more details about the BA Programme please visit the Programme’s webpage.
“Visual Art, Development and Capacity Building for BZU and Faculty of Art and Music” project will focus on developing the teaching and technical capacities of the Contemporary Visual Art BA Programme. It will provide the programme with equipment for the printing lab, with a focus on traditional as well as new technologies in printing, including lithography, etching, screen printing, digital printing on materials (wood, plastic, fabrics, paper), and 3D printing. The project will also contribute to developing BZU teaching staff’s technical and teaching capacities in partnerships with international universities. In addition, the project aims to provide learning and research opportunities through use of the BZU archives and art collections, making them available to artists and art students as a basis for research and the creation of new knowledge.
Project budget: SEK 1,728,809 equivalent to US$197,172
Project period: January 2017-June 2019
Students of the Bachelor’s Program in Contemporary Visual Arts of Birzeit University. Photo credit: Birzeit University
5. Tamer Institute for Community Education/Ramallah
Tamer is a non-profit organisation established in 1989, which aims to design and implement locally-specific pedagogy in response to the urgent needs within the Palestinian community. The Tamer Institute upholds the right to a high-quality education, to the exploration of identity, freedom of expression and access to information. In the Tamer Institute’s publications, a high focus on the quality of the artistic and visual elements is evident. For more details please visit Tamer’s website.
The “Palestinian Art Tales” project, aspires to raise cultural awareness and knowledge of the visual arts among children and young people in Palestine. Through the grant, the Tamer Institute will produce and promote high quality children’s stories based on the lives of a number of prominent artists in Palestinian art history. It will also translate and publish a book for children on the history of art. The project also aims to build capacities and provide training in children’s book illustration.
Project budget: SEK 1,464,071 equivalent to US$166,979
Project period: October 2017-April 2019
workshop with the Argentine artist "Isol". Photo credit: Tamer Institute for Community Education
6. Young Artists Forum (YAF)/Ramallah
The forum was established in Ramallah at the end of 2002 as a non-profit cultural organisation specialising in fine arts training for children and young people. The main goal of the Forum is to raise the standards of art education in the society in general and among young people in particular. Please visit the Forum’s Facebook page for more information.
“Visual Arts Education Programme” aims to relaunch the Forum’s activities in Ramallah and to develop its institutional capacities and sustainability. The Visual Arts Education Programme intends to further develop the Forum’s art education curriculum, in addition to implementing specialised training for trainers on pedagogical methods related to the existing curriculum. The programme will also develop the Forum’s overall strategy and its financial and administrative policies, as well as contribute to producing and implementing a fundraising plan to ensure sustainability.
Project budget: SEK 1,418,319 equivalent to US$161,760
Project period: October 2017-April 2019
Students’ graduation exhibition at YAF. Photo credit: YAF
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Outcome #3: Art institutions are active in extending support to artists and art professionals to produce innovative works and community-based art projects.
7. Al-Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary Art/Jerusalem
Al-Ma’mal is a non-profit organisation founded to promote, instigate, disseminate and create art. Founded in 1997, Al-Ma’mal serves as an advocate for contemporary art and a catalyst for the realisation of art projects in JerusalemThrough its main programs: The Artists’ Residency, Exhibitions and workshops, Music and Art Performance,Talks and Screenings, The Jerusalem Show, Contemporary Art Museum – Palestine (CAMP). More information on Al-Ma’mal can be found on their website.
“Supporting and Promoting Art and Culture in Palestine” project aims to support Al-Ma’mal’s art programmes, residencies and exhibitions. It also provides opportunities to local and international artists and curators and enhances Al-Ma’mal’s outreach to audience in Jerusalem and Palestine.
Project budget: SEK 1,500,673 equivalent to US$171,153
Project period: January 2018-June 2019
Exhibition "Return to Jerusalem". Photo credit: Jamil Qudama
8. General Union of Cultural Centres/Gaza
The General Union was established in 1997 in Gaza, with the membership of 52 cultural organisations and centers. The cultural department of the Union is led by “Shababeek Studio for Contemporary Art”. The studio was established in 2009, by a group of visual artists, who aim to develop the skills of artists in producing contemporary art projects such as video art, photography, installation, etc. For more information, please visit the Union’s website and Shababeek’s website.
The artists’ collective, Shababeek for Contemporary Art, will supervise artistic implementation of “Contemporary Linkages" project, the importance of which lies in its response to the needs of Gaza-based artists. Through specialist supervision, the project will organise a series of training courses, starting with conceptualisation, development, research and experimentation and leading to a coherent art proposal. A follow-up training course will cover art practices, such as sculpture and printing, that will be implemented in collaboration with Arab and foreign artists. Through an Open Call process, the project also offers residency opportunities and production grants to artists from across the Gaza Strip.
Project budget: SEK 1,855,961 equivalent to US$211,674
Project period: January 2018-July 2019
"The Open Exhibition" held at Shababeek Studio in Gaza.