Gallery Al-Quds, in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut and the Middle East Institute’s Arts and Culture Program, presents,
An Arts Program on the Human Impact of the Syrian Conflict
Berlin-based photographers Daniel Sonnentag and Kai Wiedenhöfer portray the human impact of the Syrian conflict. Their works, which approach the subject from different points of view, are being exhibited at Gallery Al-Quds and the Goethe-Institut as a way to highlight this urgent humanitarian crisis. Images from both artists will be exhibited at Gallery Al-Quds and the Goethe Institut.
Daniel Sonnentag, THEY HAVE NAMES
(Portraits of the New Kids in Berlin)
Friday, April 21, 2017
Opening at Gallery Al-Quds, 6:00-8:00pm, in the presence of the artist
Exhibition dates: April 21-May 31, 2017
2425 Virginia Ave. NW, Washington DC 20037
accompanied by Helen Zughaib, Necessary Things
(An exhibition of created objects inspired by refugees)
Artist Helen Zughaib has been engaged in reminding her viewers about the price of conflict since before the Arab Spring. “I think of myself as somebody who’s talking about the people who end up paying the price for war. It’s women and children.” For this exhibition, she has created objects in mixed media– plates, shoes, tiles, wooden boxes, recalling the ways of life left behind or destroyed by war.
Friday, April 21, 2017 from 6:00-8:00pm, in the presence of the artist
Exhibition dates, April 21-May 31, 2017
Artist Biographies:
Daniel Sonntaneg was born in West Berlin in 1982. He grew up in one of Berlin’s neighborhoods with the highest population of migrants, mostly from Turkey and several Arab countries. At age 17, he began working as a photo assistant, and then briefly attended the photography school “Fotografie am Schiffbauer Damm.”
His career as a photographer and videographer began in 2007, primarily shooting commercials for big brand companies, as well as actor portraits.
In 2015, Sonnentag began volunteering at the ICC Berlin refugee camp, where he first met the subjects of his recent photography. Since his initial encounters with the children there, he has become a regular force in the camp, accompanying the kids on excursions, teaching kick boxing, and providing a strong “fatherly” figure for many. These experiences influenced his decision to focus his photographic work on the social issues of integration of immigrants and the communication between people of different cultural and religious backgrounds. The social media campaign, THEY HAVE NAMES, sprouted out of this work.
In his exhibition of photographs at Gallery Al-Quds, Daniel’s THEY HAVE NAMES project helps the viewer see the “kids,” as he calls them, as the children they are, first and foremost,and helps people to see behind the ”refugee,“ the “war survivor“ and recognize the similarities to their own children.
www.theyhavenamesberlin.org www.danielsonnentag.de
Helen Zughaib was born in Beirut, Lebanon, living mostly in the Middle East and Europe before coming to the United States to study art at Syracuse University, earning her BFA from the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Helen currently lives and works in Washington, DC, as an artist. She paints primarily in gouache and ink on board and canvas. More recently, she has worked with wood, shoes, cloth in mixed media installations.
Her work has been widely exhibited in galleries and museums in the United States, Europe and Lebanon. Her paintings are included in many private and public collections, including the White House, World Bank, Library of Congress, US Consulate General, Vancouver, Canada, American Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, the Arab American National Museum in, Michigan She was awarded the Artist Fellowship grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 2015 and 2016, and is included in the new Washingtonian Collection, and DC Art Bank. Helen was also invited as artist in residence at both George Mason University in 2015, creating a silkscreen with Navigation Press and Wesley Theological Seminary in 2016. Her paintings have been included in several Art in Embassy exhibitions abroad, including Brunei, Nicaragua, Mauritius, Iraq, Belgium and Lebanon. In 2008, Helen was invited as US Cultural Envoy through the US Department of State, to Palestine. In 2009, she was invited to Switzerland and France, under the US Department of State’s Speaker and Specialist Program. In October 2016, she traveled to Saudi Arabia as US Cultural Envoy, speaking to young Saudi women artists. Her paintings have been gifted to heads of state by President Obama and former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
Kai Wiedenhöfer, FORTY out of ONE MILLION
(A photography exhibition on the human cost of the Syrian war)
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Opening at the Goethe-Institut, 6:00-8:00pm, in the presence of the artist
Artist Talk from 6:30-7:00pm. Moderator: Lyne Sneige, Director, Arts and Culture Program-MEI
1990 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006 with entrance midway on 20th Street
Exhibition dates: April 20-June 15, 2017
RSVP at www.goetheinstitutwashington.eventbrite.com
Artist Biography
For FORTY out of ONE MILLION, German photographer Kai Wiedenhöfer took portraits of forty Syrian war-wounded in towns, villages and refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon between spring 2014 and 2015. By showing the genuine aftermath of this war, he seeks to raise support for people who are really in need. The media summarize the number of casualties on a daily basis, but often ignore the wounded. The war will never end for them, as they will have to endure their injuries for the rest of their lives.
Wiedenhöfer’s project aims to show the suffering of the civilian population in a modern war. Looking back retrospectively in the cold light of the day, the horrors of war become evident. The reality is so gruesome that the media tends to not depict it for ethical reasons. But does this policy help prevent war and suffering, or contribute to additional conflict by making it more palatable to an unknowing public?
Kai Wiedenhöfer (b. Germany 1966) received an MA in photography and editorial design from the Folkwang University of the Arts Essen, and studied Arabic in Damascus, Syria. Since 1989 his work has primarily focused on the Middle East. He has received numerous awards, including the Leica Medal of Excellence, the Alexia Grant for World Peace and Cultural Understanding, World Press Photo awards, the Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography and the Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award. Wiedenhöfer has published four books with Steidl: Perfect Peace (2002), Wall (2007), The Book of Destruction (2010, exhibited as a solo exhibition in the Musée d´Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris), and CONFRONTIER (2013, about walls worldwide). Solo exhibitions include “WALLONWALL,” which covered 364 meters of the Berlin Wall with works from CONFRONTIER, and the 2015 “WARonWALL – The Struggle in Syria,” which is accompanied by Syrian Collateral (2016). In December 2016, the International Human Rights League in Berlin presented Wiedenhöfer with the Carl-von-Ossietzky Medal for citizens who promote basic human rights.
Ta’sheeq (Dovetail)
(A multi-media collaborative project between Syrian poets, musicians and visual artists, featuring readings and art with musical accompaniment)
Saturday, May 13, 2017
At Gallery Al-Quds, 7:00 pm
2425 Virginia Ave. NW, Washington DC 20037
The word “ta’sheeq” ????? means dovetail in Arabic.
The idea began with poetry, and how to present it in a new and innovative way. Ta’sheeq comprises a group of Syrian poets and musicians collaborating with visual artists to present poetry as a multi-sensory experience; readings and art with musical accompaniment. The multifaceted nature of this experience invites all three creative forms to transcend imposed creative boundaries and offer new experiential nuances.
In this project, poets, musicians and artists are collaborating and merging their passions to recreate and present poetry in a different way.
Artists:
Hussam Jefee B.
Hussam J.B. (founder) is a Syrian poet, and psychiatrist. He was born in Lattakia, Syria, in 1983, and currently an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts. He published his first poetry collection in Arabic in 2008: ?????? ????? ??????? (The Opener of Canned Hope). His second collection was released in 2017 ???? ???? ?????????? (Birds Smoking Marijuana) at Al-Moutawasset publishing; Milano, Italy. His upcoming book of poetry-in-translation will be released in 2018 in the US by ?ervená Barva Press. He had also published translations of American poetry in Arabic literary magazines and journals. In his capacity as a musician and oud player, he has initiated various projects in the U.S.
Alma Nizam
Alma Nizam is a Syrian poet. She was born in Paris, France in 1987, and graduated pharmacy school in Syria in 2010. Her debut poems appeared in (O2publishing???????) magazine in 2016.
Lukman Ahmad
Lukman Ahmad is a Kurdish artist from Syria. He began his art career in 1986. After moving to the US in 2010, he has collaborated with several American art groups, often painting live. In his painting process, Lukman utilizes water, oil, acrylic colors, and pastel. Lukman has had more than 45 solo and group exhibitions in many countries including Syria, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, Switzerland, Lebanon and United States.
Also performing: guest cellist, Katie Chambers
Katie Chambers, Washington DC, is an accomplished and passionate cellist. She has performed in many venues including Lincoln Center, The Strathmore, The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, Imagination Stage as well as on television and in concerts locally.
The Growing Role of Empathy in the Arts
(A panel conversation exploring the power of the arts to foster understanding and build empathy)
Thursday, April 20, 2017
At Gallery Al-Quds, 12:00-2:00pm, RSVP required
2425 Virginia Ave. NW, Washington DC 20037
A light lunch will be served at 12:00pm
View the recorded video here
Panelists:
Rashwan Abdelbaki, Syrian visual artist, awarded a 2016 IIE – Artist Protection Fund Fellowship, currently in residence at ArteEast NYC, through September 2017
Elif M. Gokcigdem, Historian of Islamic Art , scholar and editor, Fostering Empathy Through Museums (Rowman-2016)
Dagmar Painter (moderator), Curator, The Jerusalem Fund-Gallery Al-Quds
Daniel Sonnentag, Berlin-based photographer and videographer
Kai Wiedenhöfer, Berlin-based photographer
Helen Zughaib, Washington, D.C.-based visual artist
Panelist Biographies
Rashwan Abdelbaki
Visual Artist, awarded a 2016 IIE – Artist Protection Fund Fellowship; currently in residence at ArteEast NYC through September 2017
Rashwan Abdelbaki is a multi-media artist specialising in ?painting, etching, ?engraving, digital art, installation and video. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Damascus University in 2007, with a Bachelor’s degree in printmaking techniques. Since graduating, he has been featured in several solo and group exhibitions in Lebanon and Syria where his talent has been widely acclaimed. Abdelbaki finds inspiration in the many aspects of life and the world around him, however, the recurring main theme running through his collections seems to be that of Adam and Eve, who according to Genesis, were the first humans on Earth. He focuses on the complexity of their relationship, and is inspired by the many problems they faced after being expelled from the Garden of Eden. The artist is affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria and admits on not being able to easily isolate himself from the war and accept his lack of control on the disorder and calamities.
Elif M. Gokcigdem, Ph.D.,
Historian and Scholar of Islamic Art
Elif Gokcigdem is a historian of Islamic art, a museums scholar, and the founder of Empathy-building Through Museums Initiative. Her recent book: Fostering Empathy Through Museums has been acknowledged by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) TrendsWatch 2017. She received her Ph.D. in History of Art from Istanbul Technical University and a graduate certification in Museum Studies from the George Washington University (GWU). Her academic studies focused on the symbolism of geometric patterns and figural imagery in medieval Islamic art. She worked as a curatorial research assistant at the Islamic Arts Department of the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer and Sackler Galleries. Gokcigdem presented her work at international conferences such as the European Science Foundation Conference, the AAM Annual Meeting, and the Association of Science and Technology Centers Conference.
Dagmar Painter
Curator, Gallery Al-Quds, The Jerusalem Fund
Dagmar Painter is the founder and curator of Gallery Al-Quds, the cultural program of The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development. Since the inception of the gallery, Ms. Painter has designed and installed more than 75 exhibitions, including many that have subsequently travelled in the United States and abroad. For her work in Egypt she received the Meritorious Honor Award from the U.S. Department of State. In Washington, she previously established and ran the art gallery of the Embassy of Tunisia and directed Gallery Patina, a non-profit gallery of the National Council on Aging. In Cairo, Egypt, she curated exhibitions of Egyptian and American artists; in Tunisia she developed a cooperative, designing and marketing crafts for local artisans. She has written and lectured extensively in the United States and abroad on cross-cultural and arts issues, at such venues as the Textile Museum in Washington D.C., and Meridian House International. Selected publications include Arts in the Islamic World, Ornament, Cairo Today, Focus on Pakistan, The Herald, India Today, Arts in Embassies, A Practical Guide to Cairo and Savior: Tunis.
Daniel Sonnentag
Photographer
Born in West Berlin in 1982, Daniel Sonnentag grew up in one of Berlin’s neighborhoods with the highest population of migrants, mostly from Turkey and several Arab countries. At age 17, he began working as a photo assistant, and then briefly attended the photography school Fotografie am Schiffbauer Damm. His career as a photographer and videographer began in 2007, primarily shooting commercials for big brand companies, as well as actor portraits. In 2015, Mr. Sonnentag began volunteering at the ICC Berlin refugee camp, where he first met the subjects of his recent photography. Since his initial encounters with the children there, he has become a regular force in the camp, accompanying the kids on excursions, teaching kick boxing, and providing a strong “fatherly” figure for many. These experiences influenced his decision to focus his photographic work on the social issues of integration of immigrants and the communication between people of different cultural and religious backgrounds. The social media campaign, THEY HAVE NAMES, sprouted out of this work.
Kai Wiedenhöfer
Photographer
Born in Germany in 1966, Kai Wiedenhöfer received an MA in photography and editorial design from the Folkwang University of the Arts Essen, and studied Arabic in Damascus, Syria. He has received numerous awards, including the Leica Medal of Excellence, the Alexia Grant for World Peace and Cultural Understanding, World Press Photo awards, the Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography and the Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award. Mr. Wiedenhöfer has published four books with Steidl: Perfect Peace (2002), Wall (2007), The Book of Destruction (2010, exhibited as a solo exhibition in the Musée d´Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris), and CONFRONTIER (2013, about walls worldwide). Solo exhibitions include “WALLONWALL,” which covered 364 meters of the Berlin Wall with works from CONFRONTIER, and the 2015 “WARonWALL – The Struggle in Syria,” which is accompanied by Syrian Collateral (2016). In December 2016, the International Human Rights League in Berlin presented Mr. Wiedenhöfer with the Carl-von-Ossietzky Medal for citizens who promote basic human rights.
Helen Zughaib
Visual Artist
Helen Zughaib was born in Beirut, Lebanon, living mostly in the Middle East and Europe before coming to the United States to study art at Syracuse University, earning her BFA from the College of Visual and Performing Arts. She paints primarily in gouache and ink on board and canvas. More recently, she has worked with wood, shoes, and cloth in mixed media installations. Her work has been widely exhibited in galleries and museums in the United States, Europe and Lebanon. Her paintings are included in many private and public collections, including the White House, World Bank, Library of Congress, US Consulate General, Vancouver, Canada, American Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, the Arab American National Museum in, Michigan. She was awarded the Artist Fellowship grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 2015 and 2016, and is included in the new Washingtonia Collection, and DC Art Bank. In 2008, Helen was invited as U.S. Cultural Envoy through the U.S. Department of State, to Palestine. In 2009, she was invited to Switzerland and France, under the US Department of State’s Speaker and Specialist Program. In October 2016, she traveled to Saudi Arabia as US Cultural Envoy, speaking to young Saudi women artists.
Film Screenings
Stories of Syria
Short films by Syrian filmmakers, presented in collaboration with Art from Exile and Hawa Films
Q&A to follow the screenings with Karin Kitsman, co-founder of Art from Exile
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
The Middle East Institute, 6:30-8:00pm, RSVP coming soon
1319 18th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
Shakespeare in Zaatari (2016, 34mn)
Filmed in one of the largest refugee camps in Jordan, the film chronicles the story of the production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and King Lear by the children in the camp. Director: Maan Mouslli
Suleima (2014, 15mn)
Based on a true story, Suleima shares the story of a woman who supported the Syrian revolution from its beginning. An animated film, it starkly tells the story of the days and years leading up to 2011. Director: Jalall Maghout
Jalila (2014, 22mn)
A documentary about the courage and resilience of Syrian women involved in the uprising. Jalila is about women standing against the many injustices and horrors of war.
Jalila is not a character in the film, Jalila is every woman in the film. Director: Adnan Jetto.
Speaker Biographies:
Karin Kitsman
Co-founder, Art from Exile
Karin Kitsman is the co-founder of Art from Exile, which works to provide exhibition opportunties for emerging artists who have been displaced by war, conflict, political violence, or persecution. By identifying exhibition spaces, curating exhibitions, creating atelier opportunities, finding studio spaces, and securing materials, Art from Exile aims to create opportunities for emerging artists to show their work, connect them to local artists in their places of exile, and introduce them to collectors and a broader artistic community.
The Arts in Peacebuilding and Reconciliation: Emerging Perspectives
(A panel conversation on the role and impact of creative and arts based initiatives in conflict resolution, as well as in relief and public awareness campaigns)
Wednesday May 24, 2017
The Middle East Institute, 12:15-1:45pm, RSVP coming soon
1319 18th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
A light lunch will be served at 12:00pm
Speakers to be confirmed.