Public Programme

During the reporting period, the PP contributed to developing inspiring and sustainable cultural models, particularly through the Collectives programme. For example, Wednesdays at Sakakini, a joint collaborative residency programme with the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre, was a research collective co-curated by artist Shuruq Harb. The collective engaged in a series of conversations about different themes by participating in film screenings, field visits, interviews, lectures, and workshops. Activities implemented by the Wednesdays at Sakakini collective revolved around the theme, The Secret Staircase, which took place in various geographies, including Hebron, Kafr Rumman, Nablus, Jerusalem, and Talfit. In addition to field visits to a variety of locations and institutions, the collective organised workshops on writing with children and initiated the Tales in Public Spaces and Painting on Walls programmes. Works produced by the Wednesdays at Sakakini collective will be showcased in a final exhibition in February 2018. 

Initiated by artist Mirna Bamieh, the Palestine Hosting Society collective brought together a number of food enthusiasts and persons interested in the culture of food. The collective developed individual projects by working with Palestinian families with a view to unveiling policies, cultures, rituals, and cuisine economy. In parallel, in light of their experience with the hosting family, each member of this collective was engaged in a personal research based on cooking, reading, conversations, and thinking of culinary interventions. Each participant documented this knowledge in multiple creative ways. At the end of the project, each participant prepared a menu together with the hosting family for a hosted dinner at the family’s house with public participation. 

The PP Collectives programme also featured inspiring experiences. Curated by Lara Khaldi, the ékleipsis collective produced a performance and art exhibition with the participation of Dia Barghouti, Samar Haddad King, Dalia Taha, Reem Shilleh, Dina Shillah, Rania Jawad, and Jumana Abboud. The exhibition and performances took the form of documented team discussions, synopses, and meetings which were rich in different perspectives. These revolved around A’tma (1972), a play by the Balalin (Balloons) Theatre Troupe, and Russian Opera Victory Over the Sun (1913).   

The PP also worked with LARP, a performance and improvisation collective. Through play, the LARP collective members impersonated characters and played roles in a certain narrative context. Titled Daydream Silhouettes, an exhibition and seminar were organised at Gallery One Palestine, Ramallah. This was an invented, imaginary exhibition, which simulated the conditions of producing an integrated, real life one. The exhibition was grounded in questions the collective raised about the concept and tenets of art in the context of widespread art exhibitions and carnivals across Palestine. Curated by artist Jumana Abboud, LARP created a resume for the personality of an imaginary artist, who had his art works produced by the collective. The artist, then, engaged with the audience in the opening of the invented exhibition. Eventually, the idea of the exhibition was announced in the seminar, which brought together a group of actors in the Palestinian art scene and members of the public. 

The Picnic project is a key success of the PP. The project was grounded in the need to create an opportunity to reclaim the relationship with the public space as well as to tell and document the stories of the city population, including residents and passers-by. In particular, it raised questions about these people’s relationship with, and vision of, the city of Ramallah. Picnic consisted of three main components: (1) Ramallah and its relation with Palestinian cities and villages as well as with global cities; (2) issues of belonging or alienation within the city; and (3) Ramallah in the future. As part of the Wein A Ramallah Festival, the Picnic project was implemented on the Bint Jubeil Street in the heart of Ramallah. Participation was open to the public, including passers-by, shop owners, and interested individuals. A group discussion was moderated by the members of by a storyteller team of Hakaya, who raised a variety of questions and documented conversations. The project was concluded with telling a collective story by the Hakaya team. Later, all documented materials were collected and transcribed in the form of a written text. The event was attended by Shadi Zaqtan and Noor Al Raee, who played various musical instruments and sang, 

Knitting was the idea writer Adania Shibli proposed for this year’s edition of the PP Creative Net programme. Shibli, the curator, looked for 10 local, voluntary community initiatives in Palestine. With a lifespan of at least five years, these initiatives had to possess a social and cultural vision. Shibli also organised visits to individuals and similarly established collectives in Senegal, India, Latin America, and Eastern and Western Europe. In addition to be acquainted with local collectives, Shibli sought to knit an ongoing communication and discussion among these collectives with a view to exchanging experiences, sharing methods of work, ensuring continuity, and discussing the impact of social and political differences on the work and approaches of the different collectives. 

 

In coordination with the Culture and Arts Programme (CAP) of the A. M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF), the PP worked towards incorporating AMQF programmes within the /si:n/ Festival for Video Art and Performance. This event is carried out in partnership with the Ramallah Municipality, Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture (Bethlehem), Birzeit University Museum, Eltiqa Group (Gaza), Goethe-Institut (Ramallah), Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre (Ramallah), Les Instants Vidéo Numériques et Poétiques (Marseille), Palestinian Art Court (Al Hoash) (Jerusalem), Shababek for Contemporary Art (Gaza), and RIWAQ (Ramallah). Organised at the Beit Il Sa’, a video art installation exhibition was produced by Ramzi Maqdisi with research contribution by Najwa Mubarki. Titled Lurking Green, the video art installation had the theme of the invading rose-ringed parakeet, which has multiplied and adapted to our urban habitat and climate, threatening local Syrian woodpeckers and hoopoes. Other art forms that interacted with the problems associated with the rose-ringed parakeet were also produced. Along this vein, artist Asma Ghanem presented an audiovisual art work in the exterior Municipal Theatre in the context of the Wein A Ramallah Festival. In addition, Taqi Sabateen painted a 15-metre-long mural on the façade of a building in the city of Ramallah. In the context of the /si:n/ Festival for Video Art and Performance, the PP also hosted Palestinian filmmaker Kamal Aljafari, screened his Recollection, and discussed the film with him at the Municipal Theatre. 

The PP continued to implement its Q-Tours programme. In collaboration with the AMQF Communication and Public Relations Department, the PP organised 10 tours for almost 300 people around the AMQF new building. Q-Tours included school teachers in coordination with the Educational Research and Development Programme (ERDP). Targeting particular disciplines such as architecture and media, Q-Tours also involved departments and faculties of the Birzeit University, An-Najah National University, and Al-Quds University. Some Q-Tours were organised on the sidelines of other PP activities, such as the /si:n/ Festival for Video Art and Performance or the A Sight of Disjunction exhibition. In the context of artist Samia Halaby’s exhibition, The Kafr Qasem Drawings, other tours were made as an additional visit to cultural landmarks of the city of Ramallah, including the Yasser Arafat Museum, Science Studio, and Birzeit University Museum. In addition, the PP hosted representatives of cultural institutions and volunteer youth groups from different areas. 

In the context of the col.lab.o.ra.tion programme, the PP produced an art exhibition, titled A Sight of Disjunction, in partnership with the Institute for Palestine Studies and with the participation of 14 artists from across Palestine. The exhibition revolved around Tamam El-Akhal’s autobiography, The Heart Paints What the Hand Perceive (2017). Launched in Beit Il Sa’, the exhibition and accompanying seminar were dedicated to commemorate the late artist Ismail Shammout. Held at the Municipal Theatre, the seminar brought together Elias Khoury via Skype, Reem Fadda, Samir Salameh, and Khaled Hourani. In October 2017, the exhibition was relocated and opened in the city of Nazareth. Preparations are underway to move the exhibition to the Tishreen Association in the Triangle region and French Cultural Centre in Gaza. 

To strengthen collaboration with the Representative Office of Germany in Ramallah and the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, the PP hosted Tape That, an artist collective based in Berlin, in the context of the PP Q-Residency programme. Established in 2011, Tape That uses adhesive tap as a medium for the production of art works. On 14 November 2017, a workshop was organised, bringing together 17 participants, including students and artists. Under the supervision of the Tape That team, participants were introduced to a new medium for producing art works, using office stationery items (e.g. adhesive tape, pens, paper, and cloth). 

Within the framework of collaboration with institutions beyond urban centres, the PP worked jointly with the Centre for Architectural Conservation (RIWAQ), Asira al-Shamaliya Municipality, and Asira al-Shamaliya Sports Club in the context of the Creative Margins programme. Nour Rawajbeh and Majadah al-Shouli were selected to participate in an artist residency in the village of Asira al-Shamaliya. Both artists worked with, and developed, school students’ artistic ability in painting. The artists also collaborated with university students and with youth groups at the village’s club, library, and schools to produce exhibits. The exhibition centred on the cultural scene in the city and it relation with the local community. In February 2018, an exhibition will be inaugurated in Asira al-Shamaliya, showcasing outcomes of the artist residency and collaboration with the local community. 

The Qalandiya International (Qi) festival continues to be a key part of the AMQF’s commitment to partners in the field of visual arts. Along this vein, the PP has joined forces with the CAP to prepare Qi2018. In partnership with the Birzeit University Museum, the PP released an open call for artists, architects, and researchers to submit project proposals and participate in the Qi2018, which has the theme of Solidarity. The call seeks to create a group of young people with interest in learning and working together in order to curate contemporary visual art events and activities. These will ultimately result in giving shape to and producing the content of the Cities Exhibition VI 2017-2018, which revolves around the Palestinian city of Lod. Along thisvein, a specialist committee selected five applicants from different geographies, including the cities of Lod, Amman, Ramallah, and Tulkarem. Committee members worked jointly with these applicants to produce the first research component of the project. 

On Women in Revolutions is a multimedia research project organised by the PP in partnership with Gallery One Palestine, Institute of Women’s Studies at Birzeit University, and Ramallah Cinema Club. This project derives its importance from the imperative to investigate leading women figures in the last century’s revolutions worldwide. On 11 December 2017, the PP organised a conference, titled Women and Liberation Struggles, at the Birzeit University. The conference panel included Linda Tabar, Amira Salami, Aida Hernandez Castillo, Rula Abu Dahu, Areen Hawari, Mohammed Yousef al-Hafi, Adnan Tobeil, Hazar Hijazi, , Nida Abu Awwad, Islah Jad, and Lena Meari. Between 11 December 2017 and 7 January 2018, the PP also curated an art exhibition, titled Another Index at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre. The exhibition brought together Raed Al Helou, Shurouq As’ad, Sami Shanaa, Tala Abdulhadi, Farah Barham, Raya Ziyada, Lina Hegazi, and Yara Dowani. Artists who participated in the exhibition About Representation at Gallery One Palestine included Jumana Abboud, Bashar Alhroub, Nabil Anani, Suleiman Mansour, Amjad Ghannam, Khaled Hourani, Wafa Hourani, Monther Jawabreh, Manal Mahamid, Bashir Qonqar, Larissa Sansour, and Vera Tamari. 

At the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre and Birzeit University, the PP also launched a film screenings programme, titled Out of the File, with relevance to the theme On Women in Revolutions. Selected by curator Salim Abu Jabal, selected films included Under the Shadow of the Guamúchil by filmmaker Aida Hernandez Castillo, who also watched the film; A Warrior Woman's Journey: From Six Nations to Oaxaca by Audrey Huntley, who had a conversation about the film; Heiress of the Wind by Gloria Carrión; Duma by Abeer Haddad; Naila and the Uprising by Julia Bacha; and Egyptian Jeanne d’Arc by Iman Kamel. Three short films were also screened, namely Waiting for Spring, Fire Won’t Eat Me Up, Al Khadra: Poet of the Desert by Noe Mendelle. Natalia Bronstein  also watched and discussed her film, A Wrinkle in Time, with the audience. Work is underway to relocate and inaugurate the exhibition to the Birzeit University Museum in February 2018. 

 

The PP Exhibitions programme has worked towards enhancing dialogue and social action in culture and improving society’s appreciation of culture. In this context, the PP continued to work on Subcontracted Nations, the group exhibition to be organised at the inaugural opening of the AMQF new building. Bringing together 52 local, Arab and international artists, Subcontracted Nations attempts to unpack multi-layered questions on the contemporary concept of the nation, its relation to political structures, neoliberal economy, and societies. To do so, the exhibition looks into the historical transformation of the concept of the state, its public service policies, and various political forms which govern the relation between the people and the state. The exhibition is now in the process of producing art works in line with the design of the exhibition space. In addition to producing the exhibition catalogue, discussion is underway with the curator of Subcontracted Nations. 

In the context of the Q-Residency programme, a series of films of international artist Naeem Mohaiemen were screened under the title Solidarity… First and Last. The PP collaborated with the Mahmoud Darwish Museum to screen three films: Two Meetings and a Funeral, Abu Ammar is Coming, and United Red Army. The Qi2018 selected the Community Question theme with a view to drawing a link between institutions and the proposals submitted for participation in Qi2018. To promote Qi’s experience and enrich its content, the PP deems it necessary to host and incorporate Mohaiemen’s art and research works within the Palestinian cultural scene. In his three films, Mohaiemen cast light on the dark spots, which impaired, and continue to impair, solidarity initiatives. 

As part of the Collectives programme activities, the PP collected the photographic material of Gaza  Coffee & Cigarettes collective. This material was produced jointly by artist Mohammed Harb, filmmaker Abdul Rahman Hussein, and journalist Bakr al-Dabous. The project investigated the notion of the political sphere in Gaza through surveying the material culture of the diverse coffee shops that spread across all segments and neighbourhoods of the city. Moreover, the project aimed at recording everyday conversations with coffee shop regulars while sipping their coffee and smoking their cigarettes. The collected data probed the transitory meaning of the concept of the public and social spheres in the cantonised Gaza Strip between its former Israeli colonial conditions through the current government upheaval. After the collective had been created, different coffee shops in Gaza were mapped in March 2017. Later, the collected rich material was processed, classified, and prepared for montage. The PP will work with an editor to transform this material into a documentary film to be screened at the AMQF new building. 

The PP launched a collection of books, including Adania Shibli’s novel A Minor Detail. Dr. Abdulrahim Al Shaikh (Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Birzeit University) had a  conversation with Shibli about her novel. The PP also hosted a ceremony to launch Scouting for Locations, a book by artist Yazan Khalili. The ceremony featured a dialogue about the book between Khalili, Yazid Anani, and Reem Shadid, Assistant Director for Operations at the Sharjah Art Foundation.  

In the Films programmes, a series of films by Kamal Aljafari were screened at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre. These included Port of Memory with an intervention by Yazid Anani; Recollection with an intervention by Salim Tamari; and The Roof with an intervention by Ala Alazzeh. 

With reference to the Dark Room programme, the PP worked jointly with Maike Mia Höhne, Curator of Berlinale Shorts. Höhne designed a short film programme for the inaugural opening of the AMQF new building. Comprising two sets of 80 minutes each, the programme’s theme is associated with Subcontracted Nations, the group exhibition to be held at the inaugural ceremony of the AMQF new building. The PP also concluded contracts with artists and filmmakers to acquire the right to use their films at the exhibition. 

In the Fiction programme, two grants were offered to Noor Abuarafeh and Rama Mari for the production of short films with the theme Zoo. In addition to exploring the relationship between humans and animals, this theme potentially reflects multi-layered implications, metaphors, and intellectual perceptions. A total of 26 filmmakers replied to the call for submission of proposals. Of these, two proposals were selected by the evaluation committee to receive the production grant. Both films will be produced over a period of four months (November 2017 towards February 2018). Through the Flemish-Palestinian Film Festival, the PP coordinated with Belgian partners to screen the films in May 2018, at same the time the festival is organised in Palestine.  

The PP also hosted a lecture by Michael Rakowitz, an artist who lives in Chicago and Professor of Art Theory and Practice at the Northwestern University, USA. Rakowitz’ work has appeared in major collections at private and public spaces and in venues around the world. He has had solo exhibitions in London, New York, and Torino. He is also the recipient of many grants and awards for his art practices. Rakowitz curated a workshop for the production of art works to contribute to Subcontracted Nations, the group exhibition to be organised at the inaugural opening of the AMQF new building. 

The PP has contributed effectively to professional development, using an integrated, high quality and creative approach to providing capacity building to culture and art professionals. Along this vein, the PP worked with the internationally renowned Palestinian fashion designer Rami Kashou in the competition of the Recycled project. Recycled involved the design of outfits from recycled textiles, clothes, and materials by five fashion designers from Jenin, Nablus, Beit Sahur, and Ramallah. Based on six different exercises, Kashou supervised these fashion designers over a period of one month at the dressmaker workshop of the Society of Inash Al Usra, Ramallah. Recycled was concluded with a fashion show at the Friends Girls School in Ramallah. The show attracted considerable public interest and media coverage. Preparations will be in place to run the second version of Recycled. The final show will be organised in the course of the inaugural opening of the AMQF new building.

In the context of the Collectives programme, work was also underway with the Everyday Dance in Everyday Spaces (EDES) collective, overseen by dance designer Samar Haddad King. Organised in collaboration with Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre and Ramallah First Group, three performing artists participated in the EDES: Hiba Harhash, Ibrahim Fino, and Sama Wakim. The project comprised a series of performance interventions in public spaces with the aim of deepening the dialogue between local performers and the public through the project proposals submitted by the three participants. Projects were crystallised and developed in a series of workshops, lectures, and discussions with the participation of art consultants from different disciplines, including Dirar Kalash, Amir Nizar Zuabi, and Khalifa Natour. These encounters and discussions helped to adopt an interdisciplinary approach to designing and producing each project. In their projects, participants deduced the design of public performances from the everyday bodily movements inspired by the street and the public space, which they chose to be the site of their projects and to present their performance intervention. Final performances were showcased in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Nablus in November and December 2017.

The PP Q-Residency programme also hosted Blake Shaw, a media artist who works at the intersection of video, critical pedagogy, telecommunication technology, and public space intervention. A workshop curated by Shaw revolved around a simple green screen studio that was be constructed at Hoash Qandah of the Ramallah Municipality. In this vein, participants worked on creating the Resistance Television, a video art-based channel which explores how video art and visual poetics can act in tandem with, and as support to, Palestinian daily struggle and resistance against Israeli apartheid and settler colonialism. In addition, Shaw made a presentation of his artistic career and presented an overview of the Gossip TV project. Featuring an online TV channel, the content of Gossip TV combines poetry, investigative journalism, and experimental video. Gossip TV seeks to subvert the culture of mass image consumption with the poetics of resistance.

Participation in the /si:n/ Festival for Video Art and Performance festival focused on the use of video art for resistance. In the festival, participants presented a set of performances, programmes and episodes in a one-hour live performance over three days, 13-15 June 2017. In response to an open call addressed by the PP to Palestinian poets, activities included readings of old and new poems, which examined themes of the future. Contributions combined selected texts from Palestinian resistance literature classics which unveil a future vision, and modern texts authored by an emerging young group at the start of their poetic career. The project was showcased at the Venice Biennale in the Russian pavilion.

To promote the values of giving, volunteerism and community initiatives, through its Coaching programme, the PP hosted nine new graduates and interested individuals to work at the PP. By engaging in multiple projects, these interns were given the chance to closely view the local and international cultural scene. They were also allowed to develop administrative, research and coordination skills.

In the context of promoting the AMQF cultural visibility on the Arab and international levels, PP Director Yazid Anani was invited to deliver a series of four lectures, titled Art, Politics and Public Spaces, at the Mohammed V University of Rabat and Al Akhawayn University in Ifran. On 16 September 2017, Anani also participated in a cultural and academic event, After the Wildly Improbable, at the House of World Culture, Berlin. Titled An Imaginary Train Ride, 1929, Anani’s participation was a performance that addressed an imaginary train ride on the Hejaz railway through the Palestinian scene in 1929. The lecture deconstructs travel narratives provided by the memoires of different travellers, who described the Palestinian scene from different perspectives and through the train windows. The presentation is mainly relies on a symmetry between memoires of Khalil Sakakini and Mark Twain after he visited Palestine. It is also informed by Tom Mitchell’s writings about the Palestinian scene, using historical visual materials. These narratives uncover stories and testimonies, which reflect colonial, sometimes orientalist, intimate, and local visions of the social and political scene in Palestine. The imaginary train ride is a means to look into the future. It turns the stories and narratives of the antique train track into a lens vis-à-vis the present impenetrability of the Palestinian geography and society. 

Together with CAP Director Mahmoud Abu Hashhash, the PP attended the World Art Forum, which convenes in the German city of Kassel once every five years. This year, the forum featured a collection of art exhibitions, film screenings, and public space interventions that covered the city’s spaces. Many contributions were distinguished by a critical content, which enriched the PP team’s experience. The PP visit involved discussions and meetings with curators, artists, and cultural activists. It also furnished an opportunity to view the latest cultural and art developments and breakthroughs in different places around the world.