A B C DE F G H I J K L M NO P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Ahlam Shibli
Personal voyage in nine volumes
Born in the Galilean village of Shibli, Ahlam studiedat the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Haifa University in Haifa whereshe currently resides. She works as a social worker in the Arab Galileevillages and has taken up photography as a culmination of her childhoodfascination with images. Her photographic style ranges between documentaryand modern expressionistic. Her latest exhibit was entitled "Wadi Saleibin 9 volumes" which was exhibited in many galleries in the country.
The nine volumes of Wadi Saleib is a photographic exhibitionof a neighborhood deserted by its residents through forced deportation,yet it still retains the memories of its occupants- it is occupied by ghostsof memories.
The ruins seem like witnesses to human andintimate occurrences. "I have seen, retraced, and perpetuated the pastin the present. I brought light into dark spaces so that they were putinto focus and turned into center stage," explains the artist. She adds:"My memories expose the possibilities to memorize others. I see in frontof me the fantasized memories of the dwellers of the place, memories thatcontain those objects which I photograph." The volumes developed with thebirth of a story out of a typing machine abandoned in an evacuated house."The ending of the stories", concludes Ms. Shibli, "is marked by a symbolicdeaththat is born from an actual death."
For further informationcontact: Ahlam Shibli (053) 628031
Finding meaning in the color of thewords... Ahmad DariBorn in 1964 in Eisawiyyeh village, Jerusalem,Ahmad Dari developed a new style in the construction of the ArabicCalligraphy painting, sending letters in all directions in the space ofthe artwork, transcending all classical borders imposed on the classicalcalligraphy works. He mixes more than one calligraphic style using
Numerous dimensions and brushes of varyingthickness bringing in a new scope to the work. Dari studied color intensively,and tries through his artworkto divide his colors into different groups,finding a new harmony between his vertical, very versatile lines, and thehighstanding horizontal ones, with strong elements of the trilogy of man,life, and space.
Ahmad Dari, plays with words of poetry, takingspecial verses from classicaand modern poetry, and transforming them intoan artwork. It becomes no longer important to understand what they meanin Arabic as much as to feel their newly acquired meaning in the spaceof the artwork.
In his compositions Dari tries to create a relationshipbetween the letter, the word, the phrase and the space of the painting.The geometry of the letters engenders the meaning of the words.
In his paintings he tries to create worlds that replicatehis feelings ,which generally coincide with the connotation of the poetryused. He presents two movements: one of calligraphy and the other of color,both intercepting and uniting as in the relationship between music andsong. Dari's calligraphic style is somewhat unorthodox. He does not regardhimself as a calligrapher in the strict sense of the word. He uses thegreatest possible range of colors although this is not the nature of classicalArabic calligraphy. "By mixing just two colors I can produce more than40 different shades in the paintings. This is what I really like." AhmadDari is also a musician, and currently works as assistant to the representativeof Palestine at UNESCO - Paris.
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Ashtar Theatre groupAshtar was founded in 1991 in Jerusalem at the initiativeof Palestinian artists, Edward Muallem and Iman Aoun. Muallem is one ofthe pioneers of the contemporary Palestinian
Theatre movement since 1977, and one of its distinguishedactors. Aoun is also one of the leading actresses who is active in thePalestinian Theatre since 1984. She is known on the international levelfor her active role in networking amongst cultural initiatives all overthe world.
Ashtar started the first theatre-training program in Palestine,and is actively engaged in researching and experimenting with various artisticelements, tools and techniques.
In 1996, Ashtar opened a studio center in Ramallah. Today,Ashtar is equipped with a professional team of actors, technicians andadministrative staff.
Ashtar produces three types of theatre. The first is theSchool Theatre that is directed in the first place towards schoolstudents. The second is the Professional Theatre which is directed towardsthe Theatergoers, and is produced in cooperation with actors and local,Arab and/or International theatre groups, and it is performed on a localand International level.
The third type is Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressedor Forum Theatre, producing and performing an annual series under the titleof Abu Shaker's Affairs, which is essentially directed to the Palestinianpublic and is performed in the villages, cities and refugee camps of Palestine.
Among Ashtar's prominent productions are "Women of Sandand Myrrh" in 1999 , "Martyrs are Coming Back" in 1996, winning two awardsat the Cairo Theatre Festival: one for the most distinguished Arab playand for best actress (Iman Aoun). "Beauty and the Beast" was one of themost distinguished plays performed by Ashtar stu-dents, in addition tothe series of "Abu Shaker's
Affairs" in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
For more information contact (02) 2980037.
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Emile Habibi (1921 - 1996)"Reality, in his (Habibi's) opinion, was definitelymore abrupt and
appalling than fiction. It suffices that helooks at life as it unfolds in
the form of a sinister fictional story, aninsult to reason and justice,
for him to write texts that definitely fallin the realm of the impos-
sible. He says that it would be difficultto absorb the social reality,
therefore his novels combine the tragic withthe comic. Critic Ali Al
Ra'i said of his novel "The tales of Saidthe Pessoptimist": "It's a
comedy of blood and tears."
Tahar Bin Jalloun,
Le Monde, June 1996
Novelist, playwright, short story writer,and journalist, Habibi is probably one of the most renowned Arab writerswho lived inside the green line. His political articles used to engendergreat political discussions and arguments. He was born in the Galilee andjoined the Palestinian communist party in 1940 to become the editor-in-chiefof the Ittihad newspaper, the official newspaper of the Party. After thefall of Nazareth and Haifa in the 1948 war, Habibi joined the Israeli communistparty (Rakah), and represented the party in the Israeli Knesset for 19years. His first short story collection, "The sextet of the six-day war"was first published in 1968.
In 1974, he published what will become later the landmarkin his career, "the tales of Said the Pessoptimist", a very intriguingnovel both in its style and structure. It still retains a very unique positionwithin Arab literature for the heavy sarcasm, the stream-of-consciousnessnarrative, based on real-life situations resulting from the aftermath ofthe 1948 war and dispossession of Palestinians, particularly those whoremained in what is now Israel. The novel was reprinted many times in Arabicand translated into Hebrew. The English version was published by Protain two editions (1982 and 1985). In 1983, Habibi published a play, "Luka'Bin Luka'" and in 1985 his novella "Ikhtiyyeh" which was first publishedin Al Karmel literary magazine. This novella raised great critical acclaimbecause of its original presentation, and the writers' success in presentinghumour through the portrayal of tragic situations. His last novel was publishedin 1992 entitled "Saraya Bint al Ghoul". Habibi's novels are a very specialcontribution to Arab and world literature in their technique of instillingmythological time into modern times, mixing tragedy with comedy, extremesarcasm, and heavy satirical situations.
Excerpt from one of his short stories
Um al Rubabeeka (the woman selling junk furniture)
- "Have you never met the wandering ghosts?"
She asked me coyly.
- "Wandering ghosts??"
- "Men and women from Gaza, from the West Bank, and fromAmman, even from Kuwait, across the bridge, walking our alleys in silence,looking over at the balconies and windows in silence. Some of them knockon the doors and ask politely to be allowed to come in and take a lookand get a drink of water, and then walk on in silence. This was his house.Some of them are met with a smile of pity by the residents of the house.Some of them are met with a smile of misery. Some of them enter their homes,Others don't have the doors opened."
"Some of them don't knock on the doors, but search withtheir eyes for a dark complexioned passer by to ask him: was there a stone-househere? The dark complexioned man would either stop and try to remember andremembers, or he would say: "I
was born after that time, uncle!"
"My house, however, is not visited by these wanderingghosts. They have not heard of my treasures."
"Did you write in your newspaper about my treasures?… Will you promise me to write about my treasures so that the wanderingghosts will come to visit me?"
When I promised her, she went to an old box and tookout a package of worn out papers. She gave them to me and said: "this isa present from me to you. Letters I used to write and never send to theirowner. From these letters you will know why I have remained in the valley."
- "Why only now?"
- "Because only now I can be with you all: you are mychildren, don't leave me again."
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Palestinian Poet Fadwa Tuqan Born in Nablus early this century, Fadwa Tuqanis the most productive of all Arab women poets. She is called the poetof love and pain, because her poetry deals with themes of personal andnational love and loss. Between 1958 and 1970 she published 5 volumes ofpoetry. Her second volume en- titled “I found it” is considered as heractual mature beginning where she is more forward, more ad- venturous,and more courageous. Critics like Salma Al Khadra Al Jayyusi assert thatshe was the first Arab woman poet to talk openly about love, pro- claimingthat “Fadwa's mounting candor about her emotional life as portrayed inher verse remains an amazing feat of pioneering courage.” Among her collectionsare I Found it (1958), Closed Door (1967), Horsemen of the Night (1969),and Alone on the Summit of the World (1973). Her work is represented inEnglish translation in several major anthologies including “Modern ArabicPoetry, An Anthology” (Columbia University Press, 1987).
A poet all her life, Tuqan's first attempt at writingprose is her autobiography, entitled “Difficult Journey, Mountainous Journey”,her richest contribution to Arab women's literature which was first publishedin Arabic in 1985 and in English in 1990 by the Women's Press, London.
For an Arab woman, regardless of her age,to write an autobiography is not an easy task because of social constraintson the one hand and the constraints of the form itself on the other. However,
Tuqan assumes the necessary courage to write about herchildhood and adolescence in Nablus, a very conservative city, in the earlydecades of this century. This autobiography ends with the 1967 war. Lateron it is followed by the second part entitled “The most difficult journey”which spans a segment of her life after the Israeli occupation of 1967.
Early this year, the film-tribute “Fadwa...The Story of a Poet from Palestine” was screened in Ramallah. Directedby another Palestinian writer, Liana Bader, who also published a book ofdialogues with Fadwa, the film is a sensitive portrait of the life andaccomplishments of Tuqan.
Tuqan still lives in Nablus up to this day.
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El - Funoon Palestinian PopularDance Troupe
There are very few Palestinian cities wherethis renowned dance group has not performed over the past twenty yearssince its establishment. Set up in 1979 at the initiative of a group ofyoung men and women (lit- erally teenagers at the time), El Funoon hasdeveloped to be the most prominent Palestinian dance group not only inPalestine but also amongst Palestinian communities in the Diaspora. InspiringPalestinians ev- erywhere they go, the young danc- ers of El Funoon combinea unique physical stamina and lightness on stage, characteristics thatquickly transform the regular heavy steps of traditional "debka" into afascinating dance experience. Over the years, El-Funoon played a leadingrole in developing folkloric Palestinian dance and music into a more contemporarymould. Moving from "Wadi at Tuffah" through "Mish'al" and "Marj Bin Amer",their latest production, "Zaghareed" or ulu- lation, portrays the Palestinianwed- ding, one of the most important oc- casions for Palestinians to danceand sing, into a modern day experience. Despite the traditional ceremony,the young woman flirts with her husband to be and together they performa se- ductive duet that engulfs the specta- tor with their innocent joyat the up- coming betrothal. Such a represen- tation of the contemporaryPalestin- ian woman has been predominant in the work of El Funoon for thepast ten years, and continues to be a spe- cial contribution by this dancegroup not just to the dance scene but also the social development of thePales- tinian society.
For more information contact: Khaled Katamesh,manager, telefax: (02) 2402853
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Haifa Shawa-Masri and the Kirdanproject
Even though the traditional feminine art of Palestinianembroidery has always received a lot of interest from individuals and societiesin Palestine and abroad, traditional Jewelry was never tackled in the sameinnovative and entrepreneurial fashion. Haifa Shawa-Masri, a writer andmother of who moved from her home town, Gaza, to be with her husband inNablus 14 years ago, took interest in Jewelry as a re presentation of thousandsof years of history and an immense variety of cultures that have settledin the area over those years.
A series of three "Kirdan" (an ancient Persian word thatmeans neck) exhibitions in Nablus, Jerusalem, and Gaza last month exhibitedan astounding collection of Jewelry made of gold, silver, and various gemstonesin interesting combinations and shapes, that have the look of ancient jewelrybut the taste of the modern woman. The details on the necklaces, earrings,bracelets, brooches, rings, rosary beads, as well as picture frames includeTurkish, Persian, Byzantine, Mamluk and other engravings using simple designsthat are elaborate in their exquisite details. The striking colors of thestones used, combined with the tasteful design make this a unique purchasefor the modern woman who appreciates the authentic touch.
For further information onta t Haifa Shawa - Masri, (09)2383911 or (059) 209146
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Photographer of Jerusalem Hanna Safieh (1910- 1979)Hanna Safieh, of Armenian origin, was born inJerusalem and remained there until his death in 1979. During his lifetimehe witnessed the two World Wars, yet despite the hardship of his times,his gift to his country was, and remains, the beauty and exquisitenesshe captured in his black and white photographs of Jerusalem. His work wasexhibited in Paris and Brussels and New York, with his photos appearingin the National Geographic magazine, Readers Digest and other books.
The black and white photos of Hanna Safieh takenof Jerusalem in the years between 1930 - 1967 are a testimony of a timethat has been lost in the most holy city of the Holy Land. The momentscaptured by his pictures are a chronicle of the history of the city andthe land. Moving through religious events and ceremonies, fishermen spreadingtheir nets on Lake Tiberias, Bedouin women, and Samaritans playing theflute, his photos give a true account of the people who lived side by sidein this country and depict the glory of a place which survived wars, massacres,and destruction. Hanna's photographs end in the year 1967, a fact thatspeaks volumes to us all. Whatever the reason for this bitter end, HannaSafieh left behind a most exquisite legacy which lives in the eyes of allthose privileged enough to view his work.
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IArt in Public Spaces- Ceramic Mural works by Palestinian artist Issam Bader
Art in PublicSpaces
Ceramic Mural works by Palestinian artist Issam Bader
The controversy over art and its relationship to theaudience seems to be naturally inherent in the artwork and the artist whereverthey may be. And everywhere, there are staunch believers in art for art'ssake, as there are those who defend the argument that art should be accessibleto the general public and should relate directly to their concerns anddaily life, just as there are those who fluctuate in different points inbetween these two positions.
Issam Bader, born in the year of the catastrophe, 1948,was part of the early movement of Palestinian artists involved in expressingthe political struggle of the Palestinian people. Even though his expressionwas first portrayed on Canvas and in more direct political terms, morerecently, he has moved to large murals (4 X 3 meters square) with folkloricmotifs which occupy public spaces as a way of involving the general publicin the artistic product.
Born in Hebron, Bader as a child watched the artisansblowing glass making beautiful glassware and the clay masters forming ontheir wheels traditional pots and vases, as he became closely familiarwith the Palestinian women's embroidery of Halhoul and Beit Ummar. He alsogrew up surrounded with the beautiful traditional woolen rugs made in Samouvillage which boast beautiful bright colors of yellow, orange, deep red,and blue. The beautiful Islamic calligraphy and art found in Hebron's famousreligious site, the Ibrahimi mosque, also became part of the artist's aestheticconstitution.
All of these elements and motifs can be found prominentlydisplayed in his mural work at the Grand Park Hotel and Al Ayyam Newspaperheadquarters in Ramallah. His motifs of the pigeon, recurrent in almostall his works, the window overlooking another horizon, the simplified figuresof women with long braided hair ( see front cover), Arabic calligraphy,and embroidery all come together to form a distinct expression of folkloricmaterial in a contemporary outfit. The use of poetry verses quoted fromfamous Arab and Palestinian poets gives a special character to each muralrelevant to its surroundings, its date, and its expression.
Bader views his murals as a part of the development oflocal architecture, whereby the architect or the owner of the buildingreserve a space in their structure for a ceramic mural that will becomean integral part of the building. The mural could constitute a part ofits external structure as in The Grand Park Hotel, or the Ramallah Municipality,or its internal design as in Al Ayyam Newspaper headquarters in Ramallah.With the construction boom in Palestine, and particularly in Ramallah,and the rising 5 and 6 and 10 storey buildings of straight plain whitestone, Baders' work adds a certain charm and character to local architecture,which seems to be developing into cubicles of white stone set against thegray background of construction gravel.
For more information, contact IssamBader at his gallery in Ramalah 052-774717.
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KKhaled HouraniKhalil Rabah - Palestinian and beyond?
Khaled HouraniA young Palestinian artist, Hourani experiments with colorsand materials in a collage reflecting his "predicament and swinging moodsfacing the scene, the collage of TV images, Atlantic planes, the hungerin Somalia, Palestinian misery, the suffering of love in an Argentineansoap opera, and the distress of sex over the mobile phone." In his work,Hourani tries to evade the determinism of colors and set images, in anattempt to hide the secrets of his inner life, at the same time exposingthem in an explosion of colors and images and old notebooks. His abstractwork is a rebellion against the direct political or folkloric statementsthat have generally characterized the work of Palestinian artists, as aresult of the political struggle of which they have been a part for manydecades. He describes himself as "prone to doubt and discretion… for thecertainty that gives an act like painting austerity and serenity is somethingI cannot comprehend."
Currently, Hourani is holding his fourth soloexhibition at the Arts and Crafts Village, Gaza.
Khalil RabahPalestinian and beyond?
Khalil Rabah's art challenges norms and artistic conventionsof his Palestinian predecessors, and certainly his colleagues. His workfalls in the center of the contemporary world art scene, but is at thesame time "a relentless, and to a certain extent, endless investigationof his own cultural identity." Being part of a nation immersed in a longstruggle for self- determination, his works seem in odd contrast, and sometimesperhaps, in conflict with his surroundings. Ironically though, this contrastis what brings his work closer to home than many people believe. " In hiswork, Rabah oscillates between self-discovery and the treatment of thefissure and disparity between realities of the situation in Palestine andthe life he aspires for. He tries to envelop and conceal the acutenessof his wounds, sometimes with painstaking meticulousness and sensitivity,and other times with singular mercilessness and violence. Obscuring thesurface of the objects he works with or even obliterating them (using plaster- Band Aid - and nails) alludes to the internal instability of a personpermanently seeking to define his identity and a place to settle in."*
Rabah's work eludes the semiotics of contemporary artdiscourse for exactly the same reason that it eludes the Palestinian andArab discourse. His Palestinian origin, which he is constantly questioningyet returning to makes it difficult for contemporary art critics to see,for example, Rabah's peeled face covered with medical plaster as merelya reference to "plastic surgery, virtual physiognomies, the dictatorshipof images of youth and beauty, or the symbols of social status that areintegral to recent discourse on peels, skins, covers, and representations",**becausein the Palestinian context they are also a reference to the wounded, precariousstate of the Palestinian people. Similarly, his ironic and sometimes starklycruel use of objects generally romanticized in the Palestinian mind makesit difficult to understand the concept behind Rabah's ingenious moldingof memory, persons, fabrics, old artifacts, and simply things, things oflife.
Originally an architect, Rabah gave a veryspecial character to two of the most interesting restaurants/coffee shopsin his hometown, Ramallah, namely Kanbata Zaman and K5M.
* Jack Persekian
** Sarit Shapira
Rabah's work will be exhibited at the KhalilSakakini Cultural Center, (02) 2987375 opening on July 17th at 18:00 untilJuly 31st.
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Naji al Ali (1936 - 1987)Naji al Ali lived on the edge of danger because he wasclosest to the truth.
He was the last scream that we never dared utter for fearto be quenched with it.
The Palestinian cartoonist par excellence, Najial Ali is an artist who transcended fictional frontiers using lines thatdraw free borders, the boundaries of freedom without pavements, the freedomof the artist, the people, and the homeland. Every morning, for more than13 years (1975 - 1987)
Palestinians everywhere followed the cartoonist Naji alAli in whichever newspaper he published. His cartoons were re-printed inmore than one form, and discussed in every forum. He made everyone readthe newspaper starting from the back page.
Everyone who worked with him said that hewas wild, that the burning fire within him devoured everything, becausehis heart was in his quill and his quill was easily agitated and inflamed.He felt that Palestine was his own, and it will not return piece-meal,but all at once, all at once from the river to the sea, or else, no onewill forgive. The bitterness within him was constantly expanding, and heeventually thrashed at everyone with his ruthless quill.
His character was "Handala", a young boy with curly hairwhose back is always turned to the reader. His name means "bitterness"in Arabic, and he represents the distress the artist felt. In describinghis work, Naji al Ali wrote:
"The child Handala is my signature, everyoneasks me about him wherever I go. I gave birth to this child in the Gulfand I presented him to the people. His name is Handala and he has promisedthe people that he will remain true to himself. I drew him as a child whois not beautiful, his hair is like the hair of a hedgehog who uses histhorns as a weapon.
Handala is not a fat, happy, relaxed, or pamperedchild, he is bare-footed like the refugee camp children, and he is an "icon"that protects me from making mistakes. Even though he is rough, he smellsof Amber. His hands are clasped behind his back as a sign of rejectionat a time when solutions are presented to us the American way.
Handala was born ten years old, and he will always beten years old. At that age I left my homeland, and when he returns, Handalawill still be ten, and then he will start growing up. The laws of naturedo not apply to him. He is unique. Things will become normal again whenthe homeland returns. I presented him to the poor and named him Handalaas a symbol of bitterness. At first he was a Palestinian child, but hisconsciousness developed to have a national and then a Global and humanhorizon. He is a simple yet tough child, and this is why people adoptedhim and felt that he represents their consciousness."
"What is the role of political caricature? Its role isto bare life… caricature always hangs life to dry in the open air and inthe public streets… it grabs life wherever it finds it to place it on therooftops of the world where there is no place to fill the gaps or coverits holes." "When will people see Handala's face? When Arab dignity isno longer threatened, and when the Arab individual regains his freedomand humanity. Still, the most tiring part is to continue the road withall its contradictions.
The weariness of the homeland will alwaysremain deep inside." "Handala is the witness of the century who will neverdie… the witness who entered life all of a sudden and will never leaveit. He is the legend - witness. This character was born to survive…I willcontinue within him even after I die."
Naji al Ali was born in Ash Shajara village in 1936,one of 480 villages destroyed after 1948. His family was displaced to Einal Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon. Between 1957 and 1983 he worked fora variety of newspapers in Lebanon and the Gulf. In 1983 he returned toKuwait to work for "Al Qabas" newspaper until 1985 when he was forced toleave to London to work with the same newspaper in its London office. Duringthis period he published more than 40,000 cartoons. The New York Timesonce wrote: "If you want to know what the Arabs think of the US look atNaji al Ali's cartoons." The Time magazine also described him saying: "This man draws with human bones." The 'Asahi' Japanese newspaper wrote:"Naji al Ali draws using phosphoric acid."
On Wednesday July 22, 1987 at 17:10 Greenwich meantime,Naji al Ali parked his car in central London, and walked a few meters towardsthe offices of Al Qabas newspaper where he worked. A dark complexioned,curly haired, young man surprised him with a bullet in his head and ranaway as Naji al Ali fell on the pavement. On August 29th, Naji al Ali finallydied in hospital and was buried on September 3rd in Brookwood cemeteryin Woking. His death marked the end of an era, and ironically, the beginningof the Intifada in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Until this day, hiscartoons are used over and over again, and "Handala" is still as relevanttoday as he was twenty years ago.
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The Ramallah String QuartetEstablished in 1999 The Ramallah String Quartet drawsits members from the staff of the National Conservatory of Music. DanielWeatherley and Anita Masters, violins , are both from the UK and studiedviolin at London's Royal College of Music. Peter Sulski, violist, graduatedwith the Performer's certificate from the Eastern School of Music, USA,in 1990 and received an
Artist's Diploma from the Banff Center for the Arts,Canada in 1991. He has performed extensively as concerto soloist, recitalist,and chamber musician in the US, Canada, England, Germany, Romania, POland,Russia, France, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Egypt. In 1992 he joinedthe London Symphony Orchestra and the Faculty of Trinity College, London.Having arrived in Ramallah in September 1999, Peter continues to tour asan associate member of the Apple
Hill Chamber players, as well as teaching at the NationalConservatory of Music. Shirley Smart, violoncello, studied at the GuildhallSchool in London and performed in many European countries.
She moved to Jerusalem in 1998 and teaches at the NationalConservatory of Music as well as playing with the Palestinian group, Sabreen.The group brings the vibrant world of the string quartet, one of Westernchamber music's most inspired combinations, to audiences around Palestine.In Ramallah, their performance venue is the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center,and they will be performing as part of the Spring Season Concert seriesorganized by the National Music Conservatory and Yabous productions.
For information on tour dates contact the Khalil SakakiniCultural Center (02) 2987374/5.
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Sabreen Music Ensemble Artist ofthe weekSabreen was set up in 1980 inJerusalem, and was one of the pioneering Palestinian music bands whoserepertoire consisted mainly of committed Palestinian political songs, aspolitics was the main concern for Palestinian artists at the time. Featuringa number of musicians who went on to become prominent musicians in theirown right in the future, members of the Sabreen group were musicians, musicteachers, and held other regular jobs. It is only in the past few yearsthat the group has turned professional with full time musicians. Even thoughthe musicians have changed over the years, the two constant members ofthe band who have come to give the band its charac ter are Said Murad,composer, Oud player, and artistic director, and Kameila Jubran, main soloistand Qanoun player.
The reputation of Sabreen is one of excellencein production and performance, even though that has meant fewer productionsover the years. In the eighties, Sabreen managed to create a special rapportwith its Palestinian audience through their second production featuredin 1984 with lyrics by renowned Palestinian resistance poets such as MahmoudDarwish and Sameeh al Qassem and music which the average listener couldfollow and even sing. Later productions such as "Death of the Prophet"began to feature more contemporary Palestinian poets such as Hussein Barghouti.As the band began to open up to different musical worlds and influences,it began to be more and more known in international circles, and have performed in Jazz and contemporary music venues in Europe, the Far East andthe Arab World, as well as notable ones such as the Royal Albert Hall inLondon. Based in Jerusalem, Sabreen could not limit its activity to itsmusical creativity and production due to the isolation that the city ofJerusalem suffers from the rest of the Palestinian cities.
Therefore, the band started to cooperate withother local cultural and art organizations to implement several programsand projects that target the local community in Jerusalem in an attemptto raise cultural aware- ness and provide the opportunity for the developmentof young musicians from amongst this community. The Sabreen Associationfor Artistic Development was set up to implement programs developing cultureand music in Jerusalem in particular. This month, Sabreen will be performingon Manger Square for the opening of the Bethlehem 2000 millennium celebrationson the 4th of December. For further information contact: (02) 5321393
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Sahar KhalifehBorn in Nablus in 1941, Sahar Khalifeh is oneof the most distinguished Palestinian novelists. She became well knownin her hometown at an early age for her strong positions concerning women'sliberation. She was married traditionally at an early age, and after 13years of frustration she decided to end her marriage and dedicate her lifeto writing. She returned back to college and got her Phd. from the Universityof Iowa in the US in women's studies and American Literature. She is currentlyhead of the Women and Family Affairs center in Nablus. She has publishedsix novels. The first one "We are no longer your slaves" (1974) causedgreat commotion because of her defence of women's cause. However, Sahardid not receive literary recognition until her second novel "The Cactus"(1976).
This novel was translated into Hebrew, French,German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, and Malaysian, in addition to the Englishedition published by Protain 1985. Her other novels have been "The Sun-flower" (1980), "Memoirs of an unrealistic woman" (1986), "Bab es Saha"(1990), and "The Inheritance". In her novels, Sahar Khalifeh expressesher deep belief that a woman's feminist awareness is an integral part ofher political awareness. Sheshows us, in her novels, that the struggleof Palestinian women and the difficulties she faces are part of the Palestinianpublic political struggle for liberation. Her style is very transparent,sensitive, and economic. Even though she writes in classical Arabic, shehas an extraordinary ability to use colloquial according to the requirementsof the dialogue.
Extracts from her novel "Memoirs ofan unrealistic woman"
The more the emptiness increased, the more empty I became.My head turns only inside a needle's hole. The more the days oppressedme the more submissive I became. This submissiveness was characterizedby contentment, I became content, asking God for more. The good sides ofmy husband began to appear to me, and I blamed myself for being so short-sighted.If he brings something new to the house I would thank God that he is notmiserly. If he stops staying out late at night for a few nights in a rowI could thank God that our life has become settled. If he orders me todo something silly, I would thank God that he now depends on me for everylittle thing. Days pass by and I am in the best of moods. All his negativehabits are erased from my memory and become only a ghost that I knock outwith persistence and vigor.
If my husband returns to his old ways I amtotally shocked and blame myself for his misbehavior. I tell myself: ifyou weren't impotent Ya Afaf the house would be full of joy and the childrenwould have brought him closer to you. If , Afaf, you weren't impotent hewouldn't be bored with your boring life. If you weren't ugly he wouldn'twant any other woman. In a desperate attempt to fix what life has ruinedI start making the house and myself beautiful… The more I move in thisdirection, the more distant the return to the starting point becomes… Thestarting point is vague and lost in the mazes of the shaken memory, ithas become no more than a distant dream, but a dream and an illusion andnothing more. And when the dream draws me to it I stop myself saying: berealistic, Afaf, be realistic!
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Suhail Y. Khoury Born in Jerusalem in 1963, Suhail Khoury beganhis musical career early on as a Clarinet player with the College de laSalle school band, Rainless Reindeers, in 1977. He moved on to play theClarinet and Saxophone with various Palestinian bands such as Sanaabel(the Birzeit University band), and Sabreen (Jerusalem based music ensemble).In 1983 he joined the music school at the University of Iowa, USA, wherehe studied music performance and musicology. As a musician, he plays theoriental Ney, the Clarinet, Saxophone, and Piano.As a composer, he has made several contributions to thePalestinian musical scene, including: music for dance productions (MarjBin Amer - El Funoon Palestinian folk dance group - 1989), children's songs(Marah - CD/tape of children's songs and Matar - CD of children's songs).
His musical band, Washem, founded in 1995, produced aone-of CD entitled "Ashiqa" after which it was dismantled. Khoury's talentsextend beyond music to include choreography, sound engineering, and managementof cultural projects. Some of the positions he has held have been: co-founderand Director of the Popular Art Center; founder and director of the PalestineInternational Festival for Music and Dance; artistic director of El Funoondance group; music teacher in a variety of schools; and Director of thedepartment of music and dance in the ministry of culture. Since 1996, heheads the National Conservatory of Music. The only official academic institutefor music, the Conservatory has taken gigantic steps over the past threeyears towards developing a new generation of musicians in Palestine bystrengthening and enriching its staff and curricula and ensuring internationalrecognition.
Working as cultural consultant for a variety of publicinstitutions including the Ministry of Culture and the Bethlehem 2000 project,Suhail Khoury has played an important role in guiding cultural policy inPalestine. His artistic contributions, whether as a composer or musician,have left a strong imprint on the development of contemporary Palestinianmusic. Whether in the score itself or the instruments used, Khoury's compositionstend to reflect a strong rootedness in the traditional Palestinian culture,infused with an equally strong western influence. This combination makeshis music a bridge between cultures, never losing touch with the one whilekeeping the arms extended towards the other. This approach, which couldeasily result in alienating the average artist, has helped Khoury keepa healthy balance between the two predominant influences tugging away atcontemporary Palestinian music and culture in general.
Contact address: National Music Conservatory,(02) 2959070 Email: suhail@nmc.birzeit.edu
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V
Vera TamariCeramic Sculptress
Lecturer at Birzeit University - Islamic ArtHistory
Vera Tamari is perhaps the first artist to have startedstudio ceramics in Palestine, having established her workshop in El Bireh(Ramallah) in 1975. Her interest in clay rose from observing village womenpotters at work skillfully shaping by hand the traditionally made largepots (hishash) and other household pottery appliances. Trained in Florence,Italy, Vera initially produced wheel thrown ceramics, but later shiftedto sculptural ceramics and bas reliefs with themes inspired by Palestinianlandscape and traditional village life.
The corpus of her recent work includes smallearthenware plaques adapted from some old family photographs taken in the30s and 40s. These works addresses issues of identity and memory, issuesthat for Vera are so pertinent in recollecting her own family history."Oracles from the Sea" (1998), her latest sculptural installation alsotackles the question of history, in this case that of Jaffa, her family'soriginal hometown, and the dispersal of Palestinians after 1948.
Vera Tamari has exhibited her work extensivelyboth locally and internationally and is active on many local board whichpromote art and culture in Palestine. She is co-founder of Al Wasiti artcenter in Jerusalem and has published several articles on Palestinian Art.She co-authored "The Palestinian Village Home", a book published by theBritish Museum in 1989.
Another area of specialization for Vera Tamariis Islamic Art History which she teaches at Birzeit University.
For more information on VeraTamari you can contact Al Wasiti Art Center, Jerusalem, 5822859.
