Past Disquiet: Excavating Solidarity in the Arts

A discursive programme of workshops, discussions and screenings.

Past Disquiet began as a research project which was eventually presented as a documentary and archival exhibition of stories collected from over ten years of research. At Ibraaz, Kristine Khouri and Rasha Salti will present their work as a discursive programme for the first time.

Past Disquiet centres on retracing how four art collections came to be through the combined accomplishment of artists and militants. Intended as museums of solidarity, these collections incarnated their support for a political cause.

The research focuses on investigating the stories of the International Art Exhibition for Palestine, which was held in Beirut in 1978; the Museo Internacional de la Resistencia Salvador Allende (MIRSA), which was established by Chilean exiles and their supporters following the 1973 coup d’état in Chile, as well as its earlier incarnation, the Museo de la Solidaridad, which existed from 1971 to 1973; the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano en Solidaridad con Nicaragua instigated by the first Sandinista government; and the Art Contre/Against Apartheid collection, which toured internationally in the years leading up to the fall of the apartheid regime in South Africa. 

These four collections share intersecting histories. When Khouri and Salti recount their stories, they also address the contexts in which they emerged, along with the key figures and protagonists involved in their making. Past Disquiet is a documentary and archival exhibition that retells forgotten or silenced histories using images, texts and videos.

For the programme at Ibraaz, Khouri and Salti will present their research and exhibition-making process in three workshops. The videos they montaged for the various editions of Past Disquiet exhibitions will be screened in the Minassa. In addition, an evening programme will invite researchers and activists to activate UK-based microhistories of solidarity and the arts connected to the four causes examined in the project.

Past Disquiet: Workshops - Register here

Past Disquiet: Screenings - See the schedule here

*More programme details announced soon*