Masafer: Life in the Interstice by Eduardo Soteras Jalil
On 19 February, The Culture and Arts Programme organised the opening of the photography exhibition Masafer: Life in the Interstice by Eduardo Soteras Jalil. Masafer was exhibited in the Foundation and the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre.
After spending more than a year at Khirbet at-Tuba, one of the cave villages of Masafer Yatta, Jalil retreated from the desert in order to reflect on what his lens had captured there. The photographs in the exhibition are his exploration of the multiple layers, physical and metaphysical, present in a single space.
Jalil has been working with curator Reem Shilleh to prepare the exhibition for a regional and international tour in 2014-2015. This exhibition has been produced by the A. M. Qattan Foundation with support from the Representative Office of the Republic of Argentina to the State of Palestine and the Olive Oil Campaign of Switzerland.
Eid’s Workshop by Eid Suleiman Hadaleen
As part of the events of Masafer, Life in the Interstice exhibition, the Eid’s Workshop exhibition opened on the 3 March at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre presenting sculptures by Eid Suleiman Hadaleen.
Hadaleen is a self-taught artist. He uses scrap material to create models of vehicles that are part of his everyday life in Umm Al Khair, a Palestinian Bedouin village in the South Hebron Hills. In their real size these vehicles are nothing less than tools of the Israeli occupation, whereas the models created by Eid are infused with a sense of caricature, playfulness and humour.
The exhibition opening was followed by a musical performance by Rosan Khoury and other musicians. The musicians presented a diverse repertoire of Arabic classical, popular and folk music by Mohammad Qasabji, Sayed Darwish, Sheikh Immam, Sabreen alongside many others.
Two Cities: Paintings of Jerusalem and Ramallah by Andrew Gifford
On 19 March, the Culture and Arts Programme in cooperation with Al-Ma’mal Foundation in Jerusalem, the John Martin Gallery in London, and the British Council in Ramallah held the opening of Two Cities: Paintings of Jerusalem and Ramallah, an exhibition by Andrew Gifford.
The exhibition included paintings produced by Gifford during his first visit to Jerusalem in January 2013, where he was hosted by the Ma’mal Foundation for 2 weeks. Gifford was invited to return as an artist in residence at the A. M. Qattan Foundation in Ramallah which he undertook in May, working on his own paintings whilst also giving workshops. In these paintings Gifford tried to present a vital picture of the Holy City that was different from those commonly found in the West. The scenes of nature and natural beauty he produced reflect his journeys between Jerusalem and Ramallah, and his visits to the many districts found behind the apartheid wall that runs throughout the West Bank.