24/06/10

MEDIA RELEASE – For immediate release

A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON ARAB CULTURE AT THE BLUECOAT

Arabicity: Such A Near East, Sat 3 July – Sun 5 September, daily 10am – 6pm

After 30 years promoting art from the Arab world and Iran, Rose Issa continues to give visibility to the region’s best talents and says her latest exhibition at the Bluecoat offers a representation, “far greater than the daily news bulletins we receive.”

The pioneering curator, writer and producer’s exhibition Arabicity: Such A Near East, runs from Sat 3 July to 5 September as Issa introduces six contemporary artists from the Arab world who explore their cultural heritage from unique, unexpected and emotive perspectives.

Issa said: “Since this exhibition coincides with the Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival, I wanted to choose artists whose work represents different concerns in the Arab world.”

“It’s great to be organising a show on this scale at the Bluecoat, as they were one of the first arts centres to promote the work of important Arab artists like Susan Hefuna and commission others like Khalil Rabah. They have an admirable ethos of giving a platform to diverse art communities.”

Exhibitions curator at the Bluecoat Sara Jayne Parsons, said: “We are delighted to welcome Rose Issa. Arabicity: Such a Near East promises to be a beautiful and thoughtful exhibition. Her dedication and critical efforts to promote excellence in visual arts from the Middle East are unprecedented and inspiring.

“The Bluecoat has a longstanding interest in art from the Middle East and the work of artists from the Arab World and Rose’s exhibition highlights our creative hub’s continuing commitment to showcasing art from these regions”.

Of her selection for the exhibition, Rose said: “The younger generation, represented here by the Palestinian artists Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme and Raeda Saadeh, transform the relentless difficulties of daily life at home and the painful burden of history they have inherited into poetic – and in Raeda’s case often poignantly funny – works of art.

“Similarly, Lebanese artist Ayman Baalbaki expresses his experience of civil war, invasion and destruction into vibrant yet subtle oil paintings, suggesting that something meaningful, beautiful and touching can emerge from the worst circumstances. Baalbaki’s commissioned installation is being created during a residency at the Bluecoat.”

“Chant Avedissian’s work is full of warmth and wit, a celebration of Egypt’s social and political heyday in the Fifties and early Sixties, a time of secularism and democratisation. Famous and glamorous faces appear alongside pharaonic and Ottoman decorative symbols and everyday objects, from bus tickets to thermos flasks – the human figures represent the birth of a nation, while its objects convey its essence. He started producing such images during the first Gulf War in 1991, terrified that everything he held dear would disappear.

“Fathi Hassan’s installation of names of places and people who have inspired and influenced him is both a celebration of his Nubian heritage and the nature of identity itself. From the moment we are given a name we are identified with it, grow into it, and just as Arabic names all have a meaning, a further layer of meaning is added to the story of ourselves.”

“Contemporary art and culture from the region has been overlooked and undervalued by Western and even indigenous audiences for many decades. I am therefore delighted at recent interest in the area and am so happy that artists from the region are receiving the recognition and rewards they deserve at fantastic intuitions such as the Bluecoat.”
Rose Issa will be giving a talk with the artists at the Bluecoat, Saturday 3 July 11am.

Photo captions: 1) Pioneering curator, writer and producer Rose Issa

2) Ayman Baalbaki, Ya illahi (God!!), acrylic on panel with brass, steel, gold leaf and light bulbs. 210x127x8cm, 2008.

3) Chant Avedissian, society

Editors Notes

The Bluecoat

Situated in the heart of the city, the Bluecoat is one of Liverpool’s most distinctive buildings. The widely revered arts centre uses its unique spaces to showcase talent across visual art, music, dance, live art and literature. It also houses a creative community of artists and businesses and runs a participation programme with local communities. In March 2008, the Bluecoat re-opened after a £14 million re-development.

Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival

Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival was co-founded by the Bluecoat and Liverpool Arabic Centre (LAC) in 1998 and the first festival took place in 2002. It has since grown rapidly in size and confidence, audience expectation and ambition. It has become a hugely popular fixture at the heart of the city’s cultural calendar and remains the only one of its kind in the UK. Over the years the festival has grown to involve more partners from the city’s arts and Arabic communities. Official partners include Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and National Museums Liverpool. LAAF remains a key part of the Bluecoat’s activities and reflects the diverse nature of its programme. It is part of LAC’s purpose to strengthen the awareness of the Arabic community within the wider society through the celebration and promotion of all aspects of Arabic history, language, cultural heritage and identity www.liverpoolarabiccentre.org.uk. LAAF won the Arab British Culture and Society Award 2010 for the outstanding contribution that the festival has made to the British public’s knowledge and understanding of the life, society and culture of the Arab people. For more information on LAAF visit http://www.arabicartsfestival.co.uk/

For further information and images, contact Phil Bridges, Communications Officer at the Bluecoat. Email: philip.b@thebluecoat.org.uk / Direct line: 0151 702 7769