A seed library to save Palestinian agricultural heritage
WATCH: Botanist, Vivien Sansour discusses Palestine’s agricultural heritage and how to save it with France 24.
News from the art world
New Palestinian Museum Opens in Birzeit
Palestine’s first national museum opened on May 18, 2016 in order to preserve and showcase Palestinian art and history.
“Eye of the Blossom” – Interview with artist Amr Mounib
“Whatever becomes of the politics of Egypt’s ‘Arab Spring,’ the future of the country’s blooms certainly appears bright, colorful and clear. Really clear.” – John A. Bray
Artist Amr Mounib, Gallery Al-Quds appear in Al-Ahram Newspaper
“Spring Flowers… and Mary Mounib’s grandson”
“From the Ruins of a Shattered Legacy”
Gallery artist Corinne Whitlatch’s stained glass sculpture, titled “From the Ruins of a Shattered Legacy” features Turkish pottery and a mosaic dove. This exhibit is sponsored by the National Capitol Art Glass Guild.
Curator’s Comments: Vantablack and Artistic Freedom
By Dagmar Painter
In the sometimes rarified world of art and artists, there has recently emerged a controversy that I think serves to illustrate a greater truth, that of artistic freedom and the power of the artist to illuminate injustice and spur social change. World-famous artist Sir Anish Kapoor has acquired the exclusive rights to a type of carbon-based pigment called Vantablack, “the blackest shade of black ever made,” according to numerous articles published in Smithsonian Magazine, the Daily Mail, Artnet News, The Huffington Post, etc.
Hear Dagmar Painter’s question at the Middle East Institute’s “Art in Response to Conflict” seminar
In February 2016, The Middle East Institute co-hosted a panel discussion exploring the value and impact of the arts in conflict zones. The panel was organized with the Media Lounge at the College Art Association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Historic Palestinian, Native American, Irish Links Explored in Arab Museum Exhibition
Conceived by Jennifer Heath of Baksun Books and Arts in Boulder, Colo., and co-curated by Dagmar Painter of Jerusalem Fund Gallery Al Quds in Washington, D.C., the exhibition began touring in 2013 and will remain on the road until 2018.”
September 2014
I have just returned from viewing Here and Elsewhere at the New Museum in NYC. The show reflects the concerns of 45 artists living in the Arab world or the diaspora, as well as addressing the dilemma of culturally defined art, and art as representation of an expected political or cultural stance.
