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Creativity and Resistance in Syria
From March 15, 2013 until March 25, 2013
On Monday, March 25, Syrian journalist and filmmaker Mohamad Ali Atassi, and art expert Catherine David are participating in a round-table discussion about artistic creation as a form of resistance.
The round table, organized by Casa Árabe and the French Institute, will be presented by Nuria Medina, Coordinator of Culture and New Media at Casa Árabe, and will take place at 7:00 p.m. at the Casa Árabe Auditorium in Madrid (address: Calle Alcalá, 62).
For more than two years, the uprising of a part of Syria’s population against the regime of Bashar al-Assad has become a war which could degenerate into a regional conflict. In the meantime, activists, militants, artists, etc. are recording and bearing witness not only to the extreme violence of the repression and daily combat, but also to the everyday life and hope, or discouragement, of the population. Mohamed Ali Atassi will be reflecting on the two years which have elapsed in Syria’s revolution and on whether art is still possible in this difficult environment. As for Catherine David, she will be presenting a selection of films for denunciation and animated movies, as well as images of works by artists in Syria and other countries where they have sought refuge, and she will reflect upon the different modalities of intervention and the positions of artists regarding this conflict.
A Syrian journalist and filmmaker, he is a human rights activisrt, having lived and worked in Beirut for 13 years. His articles have been published in numerous Arab newspapers. His documentary on dissident Riad al Turk titled “Ibn al Am” (“The Cousin,” 2001) is the sole visual testimony of the Damascus Spring (2000) which was harshly repressed by the regime. His documentary “Awaiting Abu Zayd” (2010), screened by Casa Árabe in 2011 as part of the Cinema Biographies film series, won the international Georges de Beauregard Prize at the International Documentary Film Festival of Marseille. His latest documentary “Ibn Al Am Online” (2011) takes another look at the figure of Riad el Turk and his role in the Syrian revolution.
Of French nationality, Ms. David holds a degree in Linguistics and Art History. She was a curator for the National Modern Art Museum at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1982-1990) and the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume (1990-1994). A well-known contemporary art curator, she directed the Documenta X exhibition in Kassel, Germany and the Witte de With Center in Rotterdam, Holland, and she collaborated with the Fundación Tàpies in Barcelona, as well as being the curator of the Abu Dhabi Pavilion at the 53rd Venice Biennial. Through the many exhibitions, conferences and gatherings in which she has participated as an expert, Catherine David has increased awareness about many artists and intellectuals who undertake critical and reflective artistic practice on contemporary Arab representations in the Arab world.
For more than two years, the uprising of a part of Syria’s population against the regime of Bashar al-Assad has become a war which could degenerate into a regional conflict. In the meantime, activists, militants, artists, etc. are recording and bearing witness not only to the extreme violence of the repression and daily combat, but also to the everyday life and hope, or discouragement, of the population. Mohamed Ali Atassi will be reflecting on the two years which have elapsed in Syria’s revolution and on whether art is still possible in this difficult environment. As for Catherine David, she will be presenting a selection of films for denunciation and animated movies, as well as images of works by artists in Syria and other countries where they have sought refuge, and she will reflect upon the different modalities of intervention and the positions of artists regarding this conflict.
Mohammad Ali Atassi
A Syrian journalist and filmmaker, he is a human rights activisrt, having lived and worked in Beirut for 13 years. His articles have been published in numerous Arab newspapers. His documentary on dissident Riad al Turk titled “Ibn al Am” (“The Cousin,” 2001) is the sole visual testimony of the Damascus Spring (2000) which was harshly repressed by the regime. His documentary “Awaiting Abu Zayd” (2010), screened by Casa Árabe in 2011 as part of the Cinema Biographies film series, won the international Georges de Beauregard Prize at the International Documentary Film Festival of Marseille. His latest documentary “Ibn Al Am Online” (2011) takes another look at the figure of Riad el Turk and his role in the Syrian revolution.
Catherine David
Of French nationality, Ms. David holds a degree in Linguistics and Art History. She was a curator for the National Modern Art Museum at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1982-1990) and the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume (1990-1994). A well-known contemporary art curator, she directed the Documenta X exhibition in Kassel, Germany and the Witte de With Center in Rotterdam, Holland, and she collaborated with the Fundación Tàpies in Barcelona, as well as being the curator of the Abu Dhabi Pavilion at the 53rd Venice Biennial. Through the many exhibitions, conferences and gatherings in which she has participated as an expert, Catherine David has increased awareness about many artists and intellectuals who undertake critical and reflective artistic practice on contemporary Arab representations in the Arab world.