Publications
Qalandiya International 2016
Partner institutions
Qi Partners
A. M. Qattan Foundation was founded in 1993 and is registered as a charity in the UK, with a branch registered as a non-pro t organization in Palestine in 1998. With a particular focus on children, teachers and young cultural practitioners, it works towards the development of culture and education in Palestine and the Arab world through its threemain programmes: the Centrefor Educational Research and Development, the Culture and Arts Programme, and the AMQF Child Centre in Gaza. In 2008, a cultural centre was opened in London, The Mosaic Rooms, to promote contemporary culture from the Arab world. The Foundation aims to empower freethinking, enlightened individuals to overcome the challenges of war and injustice and to create a nourishing and dynamic society in Palestine and the Arab world. It adopts a long- term, participatory developmental ethos through fostering critical thinking, research, creativity and the production of knowledge. It strives to provide an inspiring model of transparency and excellence, in addition to advocating cultural and educational development as an essential tool of resistance for a society facing acute political instability and humanitarian catastrophe.
Al Hoash − The Palestinian Art Court s a non-profit organization based in Jerusalem, establishedin 2004. It provides a platform for emerging and established artists in Palestine to express, explore, realize and strengthen their national and cultural identity through visual practice. Its programmes and gallery provide a space for artists to showcase innovative and significant works, and it promotes the interaction between artistsand audience, encouraging themto acquire understanding and appreciation of artistic production. Al Hoash has been exploring new approaches by introducing the concept of creative place-making, an initiative that makes art more accessible to the masses and where participants use creative processes to interact in public spaces, with the aim to help communities rediscover and strengthen their relationship with their surroundings.
Al Ma'mal Foundation for Contemporary Art is a non-profit organization that aims to promote, instigate, disseminate and facilitate the making of art. Founded in 1998, Al Ma'mal serves as an advocate for contemporary art and a catalyst for the realization of art projects by inviting artists to Jerusalem to develop, produce and present their work, and by organizing workshops for young people. Al Ma'mal is determined to make Jerusalem a centre for contemporary art, while considering the situation on the ground and the enduring qualities of Jerusalem.
The Arab Culture Association (ACA) is a non-governmental, non-pro t organization committed to the establishment and preservation of Palestinian identity andculture. Since 1998, the ACAhas implemented programmes targeting youth, arts and culture workers, and raising the awareness of identity, collective rights, the Arabic language and the promotion of Arab culture. It works to ensure accessibility to Arabic language knowledge sources and provide a central, accessible and urban space for the exchange of knowledge, creativity and cultural productions. The Arab Culture Center opened in Haifa's historic center in 2015 and includes a hall, gallery, arts library, Palestinian cultural archive and arts marketplace.
Dar al-Kalima University College of Arts and Culture (DAK) was established in Bethlehem, and accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education, in 2006 as the rst institution of higher education in Palestine to focus on the visual and performing arts and cultural heritage of Palestine. Reaccredited as a university college in 2013, it offers associate degrees (2 year) in documentary lm production, drama and theatre, ne arts,glass and ceramics, jewellery, art education, music performance, tour guiding, and culinary arts and food service. Bachelor degrees (4 year) are offered in lm production, graphic design and fine arts. DAK is dedicated to providing students with a quality education that meets the economic, social, cultural and spiritual needs of Palestine, as well as cultivating a new generation of Palestinian artists. It is committed to building a culture of democracy, critical thinking and free expression, thus contributing to the strengthening of civil society in Palestine.
Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture is located in the heart of Beirut, Lebanon and opened in May 2016. Founded by art collector Rami El-Nimer, it is an independent non-pro t art foundation, an interactive, accessible cultural space dedicated to historical, modern and contemporary cultural productions from Palestine, the Levant and beyond. A space for research, dialogue and intellectual engagement, it hosts productions by curators, writers, historians, performers, musicians and filmmakers that engage openly, critically and creatively with the challenging social realities and political currents shaping the region. It is also responsible for the El-Nimer collection of Islamic art (with a particular focus on the Ottoman era), Palestinian art and orientalist paintings.
Darat al Funun is a home in Amman, Jordan, for the arts and artists from the Arab world. We organize exhibitions, projects at The Lab, talks, film screenings and educational programmes, host performances and concerts, offer a PhD Fellowship and artist residencies, and publish books and catalogues. We also house an arts library with Arabic and English sources and an archive that includes video and photographic documentation of our activities and files on Arab artists. Darat al Funun also hosts The Khalid Shoman Collection.
Eltiqa Group for Contemporary Art was founded in Gaza in the winter of 2002, with its founders, a group of artists, agreeing to strengthen their ideas of 'art for art's sake' and to focus on modern and contemporary art. One of our goals was to create a modern and contemporary Palestinian art movement. Through a diversityof ideas and techniques, our conception of art is multivalent.As Palestinian artists, with limited resources, we created a group in order to support each other and develop our ideas through ourown means, despite our extremely difficult living conditions. We decided not to let such conditions discourage us from the achievement of our ambitions. Through our artistic activities we lead oursociety to love culture, and we are committed to continue the struggle against very harsh conditionsand obstacles by using the most beautiful colors and the simplest language.
International Academy of Art Palestine is a unique community of artists, individuals and institutional partnerships, established in 2006 and committed to the development of visual art in higher education in Palestine through offering a BA in contemporary visual art. The Academy is concerned with how to teach contemporary artin a manner that addresses the historical, theoretical and practical breadth of the field and engages with local knowledge, geopolitical contexts and the lived realitiesof Palestine. The Academy is the main project of the Palestinian Association for Contemporary Art (PACA) established by a group of Palestinian artists in 2004.
Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre (KSCC) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of arts and culture in Palestine. Founded in 1996, it is located in Ramallah in a restored traditional house. KSCC strives to promote art and culture in Palestinian society through programmes committed to encouraging creativity and enhancing artistic practices in everyday life. In addition to exhibitions and lectures, theCentre currently works on several programmes: the Open Studio, an annual workshop and exhibition for young artists; School as a Cultural Space, an education project with public schools in the West Bank that attempts to integrate arts education with pedagogy; Lawz Akhdar, a programme for young Palestinian writers in collaboration with 'Filistin Ashabab'; and 'Music in the Garden', a regular concert programme featuring young Palestinian musicians.
MinRASY PROJECTS has been developing and producing projects since 2009 that stem from its director Rana Sadik. MinRASY is both an acronym in Arabic, from Rana and Samer Younis, and a double entendre, meaning frommy head. Among its projects are USPA at World Travel Expo, Kuwait, Tarek ala Duwar, Museum of Manufactured Response to Absence (MoMRtA), Study for a Domiciled Gallery, and the publication We›re all for Kuwait and Kuwait is for Us. This is MinRASY PROJECTS' second participation in Qalandyia International.
Palestine Regeneration Team (PART) is a design-led research group that aims to search for creative and responsive spatial possibilities for Palestine to heal the fractures caused by the Israeli occupation. Co-founded by Murray Fraser, Nasser Golzari and Yara Sharif, it is an interdisciplinary team of architects, spatial designers, academics and artists involved in a range of live and speculative design projects in Palestine, the Middle East and beyond. Working with local communities, NGOs and municipalities, the intention is to cultivate possibilities for change from within. Responsive design projects address immediate and long-term strategies, from the sustainable, social, economicand environmental, to direct neighbourhood interventions. PART not only works in physical space but also in the space of imagination, with interventions that escape from realities to carve out moments of possibility and suggest change.
Ramallah Municipality was founded in 1908. Its mission is to provide high quality services tothe city's residents and visitors,to continue advancing the city while maintaining its openness, plurality and vitality. It strives to ensure Ramallah's capability of advancement and viability while also ensuring the city's sustainable development is on the basis ofan equal and just delivery of services, and in partnership with the local community. Identifying cultural and social developmentas a main pillar of its work, itaims to provide the adequate infrastructure to accommodate local and international cultural and social activity, to support cultural and artistic events held by civil society institutions, to present the community with art and social programmes that link art withthe community, and to widen the audiences for art and culture in Palestine. It also focuses on the preservation of the city's tangible and intangible cultural heritage by actively engaging the community with its projects.
Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation, RIWAQ, is a non-profitt organization whose mission is to protect, restore, and rehabilitate the architectural and cultural heritage in Palestine. RIWAQ›s areas of focus include the compilation of the Registry of Historic Buildings, the rehabilitation of the historic centers of Palestinian cities and villages, the restoration of historic buildings, the research and documentation of architecture in Palestine, and the publication of the monograph series The Architectural History of Palestine. RIWAQ also aims to raise popular awareness about the importance of cultural heritage in formingthe identity and civilization ofthe Palestinian people, and as a basic pillar of socioeconomic and political development in Palestine. The RIWAQ team comprises: Aya Tahhan, Carol Michael, Khaldun Bshara, Kholoud Al Najjar, Loor Awwad, Michael al Far, Michel Salameh, Mohammad Subhi, Renad Shqeirat, Ruba Salim, Samah Daraghmeh, Shatha Safi, Suad Amiry, Tareq Dar Nasser, Usama Hamadneh, Yousef Dar Taha, and Yara Bamieh.
Shababek for Contemporary Art is an artists' collective based in Gaza: 'The space around us is limited, the ideas in us are unlimited. We came together to think about how we could break out from here and reach the outside; and how we could open small windows and breathe fresh air. In this restricted and cramped space, Gaza, we express ourselves in a culturally bound artistic language; a language that is part of us. Gaza is rich in details that we try to illustrate. We are a group of artists, bound to a specific, geographic area, in which ideas converge. With a deep belief in collective co-operation, we try to develop together the creative aspects inour art. We look at the most recent contemporary art, enabling us to fully express our artistic abilities and put them into form. The ideas and reflections of the group come together in a synthesis that is brought to the attention of the public through meetings, exhibitions and workshops, in which both local and international artists participate. We have each of us taken part in numerous international events in support of our culture, our artistic concepts, and our efforts to interact.'
The Palestinian Museum is an independent institution dedicated to supporting an open and dynamic Palestinian culture nationallyand internationally. The Museum presents and engages with new perspectives on Palestinian history, society and culture. It will focuson promoting Palestinian culture, and creating an environment for free and innovative intellectualand creative endeavour. It also offers spaces for creative ventures, educational programmes and innovative research. Conceived asa transnational institution, capable of overcoming geographical and political boundaries, its digital collections and online platforms will be capable of being shared worldwide. The new Museum building in Birzeit opened in Birzeit in May 2016; it is a flagship project of Taawon-The Welfare Association.
Qi2016 International Media Partner:
Ibraaz was initiated by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation in 2011, and is the leading critical forum on visual culture in North Africa and the Middle East. We publish an annual online platform - consisting of essays, interviews, artists' projects, and platform responses – that focuses on research questions conceived through a network of editorial contributors based in the Middle East and beyond. Our key editorial aim is to publish, alongside work by internationally renowned writers, academics, curators, activists, and filmmakers, emerging writers and artists.
Apart from organizing critical debates and discussions within the region, Ibraaz also publishes a series of books under the 'Visual Culture in the Middle East' title. To date, these have included Future Imperfect: Contemporary Art Practices and Cultural Institutions in the Middle East (forthcoming, Sternberg Press, 2016); Dissonant Archives: Contemporary Visual Culture and Contested Narratives in the Middle East (2015); and Uncommon Grounds: New Media and Critical Practices in North Africa and the Middle East (2014). Two further volumes are in production for 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Ibraaz is the International Media Partner of Qalandiya International 2016, and the producer of the Qi2016 online exhibition catalogue, which was created in collaboration with Qalandiya International, and all Qi2016 institutions.