Art In Exile Wants To 'Rise Above Rhetoric' In Showing Refugee Art
dcist.com
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People think the Middle East is all conflict, terrorism, tyranny,” says Natasha Hamarneh Hall. “I want people to see that there is something to be offered. There is beauty.”
So Hamarneh Hall last year founded Art in Exile, an organization whose second annual film and art festival begins tonight. It will feature live performances, film screenings, and a visual art exhibition of 30 Syrian and Palestinian artists.
Hamarneh Hall used to work for the U.S. government doing refugee interviews, and has travelled throughout the region for her job. “When I had to leave Syria before the revolution, I knew all of these amazing filmmakers, artists, musicians who were still there. The art they create is a means of catharsis and political expression,” she says as she hangs paintings for the exhibition.
The process of curating the different films and visual arts was made more difficult by the ongoing strife many of the artists still go through. While some have successfully emigrated to Europe and the United States, others remain in Syria. Even for those who left, most still have family members still in danger. “There is a fine line between telling their story and wanting to ensure that they and their loved ones remain safe,” says Hamarneh Hall.
Another aspect of this year’s festival is about deepening people’s understanding of the complexities within the Middle East and particularly Syria. Artists include Palestinians living in Syria, Kurdish Syrians, as well as those from major cities like Damascus.
The festival begins with a performance by artist and musician Luqman Ahmed at a reception at Provision 14. From Hassakeh, Syria, Ahmed will play the tanbur—a Kurdish instrument—and live paint, meaning he will sit in front of a canvas and attendees will get to watch him work.
Last year, the festival was all about the Yarmouk Camp, an unofficial refugee camp for Palestinians within Syria. Artists donated their work and the proceeds from sales benefited those living at Yarmouk. One artist in this year’s exhibition used coffee grounds he saved from the camp in a painting.
This year, though, Hamarneh Hall wants the artists themselves to profit from their work. Many of them are starting their lives over with little material possessions.
While tomorrow’s double-feature film screenings of A World Not Ours and We Cannot Go There Now My Dear have already sold out, Hamarneh Hall recommends that hopefuls swing by after the first film concludes for a chance to view the second. Each film will conclude with a discussion with filmmakers.
The fact that some of the festival’s activities are already sold out is no surprise to her. “In D.C., the saturation of politics leads to an increasing hunger for art and for alternative voices,” she says. Next, she wants to take the exhibit on the road and into schools.
The increasing divisiveness of the debate over Syrian refugees makes the festival even more essential, Hamarneh Hall says. “We’re hoping that this rises above the rhetoric.”
Source: dcist.com