SAF hosting art spectacular in Al Dhaid in solidarity with Palestine
- 22 Dec 2023
Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer
Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF) will present a special exhibition in support of Palestine, December 23 to April 14, 2024, in the Old Al Dhaid Clinic and Arts Palace (Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Palace) in Al Dhaid. ‘In the eyes of our present, we hear Palestine’ foregrounds the unyielding creativity of artists who have dedicated their practice to informing, advocating and educating about the history of the conflict, the current political situation and issues of human rights in Palestine.
The exhibition, presented in consideration of the ongoing tragedy of Palestine, is part of SAF’s continuous support for the country and its people and testifies to the decades-long struggle for homeland and sovereignty in Palestine. While bearing witness to forced displacement and devastating loss, the works also celebrate the rich identity and heritage of Palestine, invoking a spirit of solidarity. More than 60 works from the SAF Collection will be on view, accompanied by programmes for community gathering.
This special show will narrate the multifarious stories of the Palestinian people and their allies, opening up a space of interaction, learning and transformation. The artworks featured in the exhibition are by artists from Palestine and its neighbouring countries. Together, the paintings, sculptures, installations and videos, spanning the 1950s to the present, offer a glimpse of the challenges and hopes of the Palestinian people.
Participating artists include Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Adel Abidin, Ayreen Anastas and Rene Gabri, Simone Fattal, Tarek Al Ghoussein, Shadi Habib Allah, Hazem Harb, Mona Hatoum, Emily Jacir, Najat Makki, Jumana Manna and Sille Storihle, Rashid Masharawi, Khalil Rabah, Mario Rizzi, Raeda Saadeh, Mona Saudi, Basma Al Sharif, Nida Sinnokrot, Sharif Waked, Kamal Youssef and Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara.
SAF is encouraging communities in Sharjah and beyond to organise programmes that show solidarity with Palestinians and host activities in the helipad theatre of the Old Al Dhaid Clinic and the majlis in Arts Palace. Malu Halasa, Literary Editor at The Markaz Review, has commented that “the Israelis knew the power of art in Palestine. In the 1970s and 1980s, there were no official galleries, and artists showed their work in schools, churches and town halls.
The popularity of these exhibitions among ordinary Palestinians also drew an unexpected audience — Occupation authorities. “Artists became another front in the resistance. They were forced to apply for permits to exhibit work; their art was censored and Israeli soldiers conducted studio visits. Before the Oslo Accords in 1993, some artists were imprisoned because they incorporated the colours of the banned Palestinian flag — red, white and black — in their artwork.
However, occupation, discrimination and violence were opportunities, not so much for the art of resistance symbols predicated on the fist or the gun, but for art that was modern, complex, critical as well as beautiful.” Ziad Anani, Director of Zawyeh Gallery which has spaces in Dubai and Ramallah, has said that “investing in creativity and artistic talents in Palestine as a way of resilience in the face of adversaries … We focus on Palestinian art production, but also we give space to artists who produce art about Palestine, or who are in solidarity with Palestine.”
Researcher Mafalda Young notes that “in Palestine, to exist is to resist … Palestinians have found many inventive and innovative ways to resist the Israeli occupation, and one of those ways, but certainly not the only, is art. Palestinian art and the Israeli occupation walk hand in hand insomuch that and the historical and political encounters of the conflict have influenced the Palestinian cultural scene and vice versa.”Art, in its various forms, according to Young, is part of the arsenal of everyday resistance techniques employed by the Palestinian.
Art has not only challenged the outcomes of the conflict, but also how the conflict has impacted the Palestinian artistic scene. Palestinian street art has been particularly effective as a resistance tool. It is a potent instrument on account of its ability to instill in Palestinian collective consciousness, a sense of resistance. It affirms Palestinian existence and develops an alternative political imagination against an imposed reality.
The SAF Collection’s roots were seeded with acquisitions and commissions from the Sharjah Biennial and the Foundation. It has since grown to be one of the Middle East’s pre-eminent collections, serving to enrich the lives of audiences through the acquisition and rotating exhibition of significant works of modern and contemporary art, both locally and internationally. The more than 1,000 works span art movements from the 1920s to the present day in an ever-expanding range of visual culture and forms.
Reflecting Sharjah’s history as a major regional trade route, the collection also acts as a node that connects cultures through modern and contemporary art. The collection aims at a re-authoring of the history of art, contexualising it from a South/South and East/East perspective, while offering an alternative view that shifts the axis of this history to a more inclusive, intergenerational and transcultural one.
Sharjah Art Foundation is an advocate, catalyst and producer of contemporary art within the emirate of Sharjah and the surrounding region, in dialogue with the international arts community. It encourages an understanding of the transformational role of art.
Core initiatives include the long-running Sharjah Biennial, featuring contemporary artists from around the world; the annual March Meeting, a convening of international arts professionals and artists; grants and residencies for artists, curators and cultural producers; experimental commissions; travelling exhibitions and scholarly publications.