Art and its public spaces in Amman, Berlin, Casablanca: How did the reception of public spaces change since the Arabic Spring? Which artistic strategies can realize new forms of participication?
From May 25-30th artists from Jordan, Marocco and Germany show their work in Berlin. They're part of the artist lab "Common spaces ABC". "Common spaces" is supported by "Szenenwechsel" (Robert-Bosch-Stiftung and Internationales Theaterinstitut).
From Jordan:
Dina Abu Hamdan | Choreographer, Head of the Dance Company "Zakharef in Motion"
Dina Abu Hamdan, a Jordanian choreographer, theatre director, cultural consultant, arts manager & curator, is a woman who wears many hats. She has extensive experience directing theatre with children, and created several choreographic works. Besides that, she is also a resident choreographer of the National Company of Jordan, and the founder of the first Zakharef in Motion Dance Festival in Jordan and the biannual DEWAN symposium for performing arts. In her work, she deals with the impact of authoritarian rule on the individual.
Dina Haddadin | Visual Artist and Architect | Amman
In her work, Haddadin asks for the chances and obstacles of political participation in urban con-‐ texts. Her art is situated at the intersection between architecture, visual arts and installations. Haddadin’s works were displayed in Jordan, Abu Dhabi, New York and London.
Mohammad alQaq | Visual Artist, Activist and Multimedia trainer; venue director at 7iber | Amman
Mohammad alQaq is a visual artist, blogger of the popular video blog "Khobbeizeh", singer, actor, art and venue director of 7iber, and Zumba instructor. As an artist, Mohammad focuses on digital art, specially video art, where he decodes messages into still or moving visuals, using different techniques like stop-‐motion and time-‐lapse.
From Marocco:
Mohammed Laouli | Video and Performance artist | Rabat |
Laouli stages the ordinary and everyday in the city through which he displays the special and particular. His works and installations in public space point to social inequality in Morocco and the impossibility of many in society to have a stake in the commons. His works were displayed in Rabat, London, Brussels and Karlsruhe.
Meryem Jazouli | Choreographer | Casablanca |
Jazouli was trained as a dancer and choreographer in Paris. Back in Morocco, she founded the dance center “Darja” that was set up as a place for artistic and cultural encounter. Many works and performances originated from there and were staged in international contexts, such as a project with Marc Ducret “Between Walls” and “Masnaa” with Ambrose Bye, amongst others.
From Germany:
Jörg Lukas Matthaei | matthaei & konsorten Performances and Installations | Berlin
Under the name of "matthaei &consorts", over 40 pieces of artistic work a have been developed. The interventions, productions and urban walks are drawing a picture of the present landscape. Each project visualizes a specific place and context of that landscape. "Matthaei & consorts" works as an independent production ensemble, but sometimes also in collaboration with city theatres and for festivals in Germany and Europe.Rollenaufteilung zwischen Akteur & Beobachter.
Susanne Vincenz | Dramaturge & Curator | Berlin
After studying theater, film and literature, Vincenz established the "staatsbankberlin" as a production platform and venue at the interface between media art, musical theater, visual arts and performance. Simultaneously she is teaching at the Freie Universität in Berlin at the Institutes of Literature and Film Studies. Since 2003 Susanne designed and realized interdisciplinary theater performances, festivals and exhibitions, always collaborating with artists from different fields. Recently she has been focusing on cross-cultural projects in the context of architecture, urban space and social action.
Events:
- Common Spaces ABC - Kunst & ihre öffentlichen Räume in Amman, Berlin, Casablanca May 29th 2016 at 7 p.m. in Zentrum für Kunst und Urbanistik, Berlin
