Ramallah hosts first art Biennial in Territories

The area of Ramallah, the administrative capital of the West Bank, is about to host the first Biennial of contemporary art in the Territories. Seventeen Palestinian artists along with 13 other artists from around the world, including Italy's late Bruno Munari, will show their work. The event, called 'Qalandiya International, Art & Life in Palestine', open until November 15, will see artists cooperate in 26 projects in different contemporary forms of art such as dancing, design, poetry, visual art and theatre on the theme 'Gestures in Time'. 'This is an opportunity for local and international artists to open a dialogue on the meaning of their work in relation to the Palestinian situation', Katya Garcia-Anton, co-curator of the biennial, told ANSA. 'With Gestures in Time we want to stress that the notion of present as 'incomplete', and likely to become victim of historic falsifications, is the interpretative key of the biennial. The artists taking part see the idea of 'historic progress' as a cruel illusion. The gestures therefore become a poetic and narrative form which enables us to unmask the illusion of progress'. The event is produced and financed by Palestinian cultural associations Riwaq Biennal and The Jerusalem Show, by the European Union, by the Palestinian-German cooperation office and by the British Council. Among the art on show is 'Concrete', an installation by Khaled Jarrar: the Palestinian artist documented the creation of his work - a soccer ball in cement - filming himself as he takes off pieces of cement with a scalpel and hammer from the protective barrier built by Israel at the beginning of 2003 which divides the village of Qalandiya from East Jerusalem, Palestine from the Jewish state. 'The wall is an instrument of separation, soccer on the contrary is a symbol of sharing, of passion and friendship and it is fundamental to use what we hate to build something positive', said Jarrar. 'We Palestinians for years have used politics as an instrument for our freedom', said the founder of cultural association 'Riwaq', Suad Amiry (known in Italy for her book 'Sharon and my mother in law' which won the Viareggio prize in 2004) and have used politics as the only instrument for our liberation. Qalandiya International represents the first step towards changing the narrative which has led us to the current situation. Art is beyond reality and provides us with the tools to re-interpret it and understand it from a different perspective'. The late Bruno Munari is among the artists whose work is on display at the event. Munari together with Lucio Fontana was one of the leading interpreters of design and graphic applied to art of the 21 century.