This consultation was a response to the need of the General Union of Cultural Centres (GUCC) in Gaza, one of the partner organisations in the first round of the project, to develop the concept of and produce the final exhibition for the Contemplative Contrasts programme, and to organise a parallel series of seminars.
This consultancy was carried out by Dr Bahaa Abudaya, the curator at the Matafe’ (Fire Station) artist-in-residence project in Doha. Dr Abudaya designed and produced the exhibition and the five seminars that were held in parallel with it that considered art and cultural management, art history, contemporary arts, and the challenges facing art and artists. He also supervised the production of the exhibition catalogue, and led exhibition tours for different groups of the audience.
The seminars resonated well with the audience, especially the seminar on “Palestinian art or art in Palestine”, with the participation of Ahmad al-Haj, Majdal Nateel, Fayez al-Sarsawi, and Mahmoud Abu Hashhash, and the lecture on the revival of Arab visual arts which focused on contemporary art in the 20th century (in Egypt and Lebanon) presented by Dr Abudaya. The lecture was attended by approximately 100 people.
The launch of Contemplative Contrasts attracted more than 1,000 visitors, and the exhibition ran from 27 July – 8 August 2019, and featured the works of 64 artists from Gaza. The exhibition was extended for a week due to its popularity.
Dr Bahaa Abudaya
Dr. Bahaa Abudaya is a curator of contemporary art at the Matafe’ (Fire Station) artist-in-residency project, in Doha, Qatar. He has previously worked as a visiting associate professor of Middle Eastern Modern and Contemporary Art History at the Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi. A historian and art critic, he has published many articles about modern and contemporary art history in the Middle East, as well as several short stories. Abudaya was also a modern andcontemporary art curator in the Arab Museum for Contemporary art in Doha, and a contemporary art curator at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. His research focuses on art and politics in Palestine, as well as art history in the Arab world. He has curated many exhibitions in Paris, Doha, Berlin and St Petersburg.