The A. M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF) celebrated the New Visions art collective, established in 1989 by artists Sliman Mansour, Vera Tamari, Nabil Anani and Tayseer Barakat. The AMQF honoured the artists in a ceremony at the AMQF new building in Al-Tira neighbourhood, Ramallah.
During the honouring ceremony, a short film was screened, featuring conversations between the four artists about their legacy and contributions through joint art works to creating contemporary Palestinian fine art.
Artist Khaled Hourani made a presentation on the impact and accomplishments of New Visions, which has set the foundations for contemporary practices of Palestinian visual arts. Hourani spoke about the art environment and political context, in which the artists lived at the time. Hourani also addressed other art collectives, which were created then, such as Yabous and Naji al-Ali collectives, recalling that art collectives emerged in the aftermath of WWII across the world.
A discussion took place between the audience and artists, focusing on the reasons for creating the art collective as well as its methods and approaches to art at the time. The artists also presented their vision of that experience years after it had come to an end.
Young artist Shuruq Harb presented on the role of art collectives and the challenges they currently face.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Ziad Khalaf, AMQF Director General, presented a token to the four artists as an expression of the AMQF’s appreciation of their collective impact and contributions to the Palestinian art scene.