Living Spaces, 2nd AllArtNow Festival (Syria)

Living Spaces, 2nd AllArtNow Festival (Syria)

Please find below the link for the text written by Mrs. Naik M`Sili, from
Les Instants Festival, about her visit to The 2nd AllArtNow Festival
http://www.babelmed.net/Countries/Syria/living_spaces.php?c=5697&m=31&l=en

Living Spaces, 2nd AllArtNow FestivalThe 2nd AllArtNow Festival took place
in Damascus from the 25th to the 30th May 2010. The Festival, consisting of
video art screenings, lectures, installations, performances, artistic
workshops and encounters was created by a group of artists transported by
their energy, their desire to cross views with the entire world, and their
belief in the sharing of experiences and imaginations.

On the occasion of this event, Abir Boukhari, curator and her sister
Nisrine, artistic director, declare that art is an essential component of
society as it deals with social, political and cultural issues.

The different artistic productions presented during the Festival deal with
diverse social issues. While Raeda Saadeh (installation entitled*Vacuum*,
Palestine) vacuumed the sand of the desert, Iman Hasbani (Syria), questioned
the audience about life, death, dream, future... in her installation *Vision
*. The*Habitual view* by Muhammad Ali focused on mass media and consumer
society and Luciana Lyrio (Brazil) dealt with the status of women in society
in her performance *Consolation*. During his lecture, Marc Mercier (France)
gave the audience an overview of the international history of video art and
questions the necessity of imbalance to make a film.

Creativity was given a large place in this Festival. Through the project
Behind words, ten young artists from Syria had an open discussion on the
relationships between Man and Woman in ten very sensitive, singular and
independent video art films.

This itinerary festival tries to reach different audiences and opens new
spaces of exhibition of contemporary art like the beautiful Maktab Anbar
Palace, erasing the borders between art and life.

The organisation of the *Video art and performance Biennial /SI:N/* in
Palestine (May 2009) and the*AllArtNow Festival* in Sham (Damascus) proof,
once again, that Middle Eastern countries are in phase with the contemporary
world, in the way it is lived and thought in the rest of the world.

To conclude, I would like to share the words of Burhan Bukhari, researcher
and thinker from Syria:
“I am not only hoping that this new gathering will succeed, but rather
wholeheartedly appealing to them (AllArtNow team) to be patient and
determined to overcome all obstacles, to refrain, as much as possible, from
despair, to transcend inhibitions, and to move forward in a long journey
tirelessly and untiringly by holding a deep belief that Art is not a
commodity in the age of “Globalization”, but rather a flag that has to be
continually carried by successive generations.”

*Naïk M'Sili*
Festival Les Instants Vidéo
Marseille, Tuesday June 8th 2010