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REPORT
ABOUT
AAW INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP 2006
20 - 30 November 2006 opened on 29 November at 12 am
by the organizers,
Reem Hassan & Moataz El Safty
description
The international workshop at Alexandria Atelier is a workshop in
the field of visual arts for 10 days of intensive artistic work by a
group of Arab, Egyptian and foreign formative artists. The event is
held in Alexandria's atelier, the ancient- rooted building among
Alexandria cultural edifices. The objective of holding it is to
create an experimental artistic creative climate which activates and
motivates new thinking through invention and experimentation in
different fields of contemporary visual arts so as to create a new
artistic climate from the collective work inspired by a number of
professional artists in this field. The event will end by holding an
open artistic demonstration for the public for a day only. During
this event, the artists of the workshop will meet with critics,
artists and writers. Each artist will present an artistic
demonstration of his artistic experiment or art in his country
through a discussion forum that will be held every evening in the
atelier's rooms after completing the work.
Advertising the workshop has started through the electronic website
of the atelier on the internet since March 2006. all the required
conditions for the workshop was stated in this advertisement and the
method of application. It was determined that 30 July 2006 was the
last date of receiving all the applications of the participants. In
addition, the advertisement was also put on the site as well as
informing the final participants in the workshop of the deadline, 15th
August, 2006.
As for the actual work in the workshop, the results were really
excellent not only through the creative works alone but also,
perhaps this was the most important thing in the workshop, through
group and team work and the cultures dialogues which was
wonderfully conducted since the first day we started work in the
atelier which was the "Presentation " made at the beginning of the
workshop and took the whole first and second days from five till ten
in the evening. Artists demonstrated all their previous artistic
experiments through a video projector show of their works. This
meeting was made in the Atelier halls and was attended by a good
number of the students and the professors of the faculty of Fine
Arts. All artists competed to demonstrate their works one after one
until the climate became a beautiful dialogue convention presenting
new information for all the audience whether in identifying the new
artistic experiments or acquiring varied experiences that correspond
to current age through their former works and a demonstration of the
contemporary Egyptian art experiments at present through the
Egyptian artists participating in the workshop.
After completing the first and second days of the workshop and after
the interesting presentation made by the artists to express their
ideas and creative views, work was initiated in the workshop by
them. Each artist began individually to choose the appropriate
setting to work whether directly within the showrooms, in the
ateliers which belong to the painting department, in the garden
attached to the Atelier, or in the computer lab. Some made a tour in
the city to familiarize themselves with its streets and different
areas. They photographed what happens in its main roads, streets and
old alleys. The most beautiful forms of expression caused by the
workshop was that cooperation among the artists from the first
meeting and expressing ideas. For example, work started in the
workshop with a number of artists who together presented joint-works
with no former acquaintance of each other. The artistic product was
behind this cooperation which was produce through actual dialogue
and communication between each other; thus, the outcome was
wonderful.
The very first days of the workshop, precisely the first two days in
which the shows of artists' works took place had the most profound
effect on the artists as they were acquainted with each other
through the artistic work. Through this artistic work ideas and
coordination for the production of joint works were generated. This
led also to the identification of art trends from a country to
another. This produced some of the above-mentioned works for joint
co-operation among some artists. As for the young artists or art
students who were invited to help in this workshop and to attend
some of these shows, they were greatly impressed as they firstly got
to know the extent of artists' thinking and the extent of the art
achieved in each country.
Secondly, they were able to identify who they would accompany during
the workshop period as they could exchange constructive dialogues
and know the beginnings of ideas' generation and the attempt of
their achievement. Thirdly, they could search with the participating
artists for the materials they needed in order to achieve the idea.
All this had a positive role in increasing experience and knowledge
and eliminating differences between artists and young assistants.
This was just the beginning, with the passage of the workshop days
and the continual work day and night many experiences as well as
dialogues between the participating artists themselves, the young
artists and art students were added up to them. Indeed, this was the
most supreme objective of setting such artistic events. Days went on
till we got to the end of the workshop and the opening celebration
was hold by giving thanking letters to the participating artist and
a collective meeting at the end of the day with all participants in
order to get to learn from them personally the positive and negative
points of the workshop so that they could be avoided in the future.
The cultural artistic events such as this workshop is what is called
now in all cultural fields the dialogue of cultures and the dialogue
of civilizations and the proximity of the thinking language and the
acceptance of the other and dealing with the other…etc of new terms
in the field of cultural knowledge. As culture enjoys a special
importance in what it stirs of discussion in developing communities
and as the society does not develop or preserve the continuity
except through culture. Hence, it plays a basic and vital role in
the life of an individual and group in all communities with their
different kinds. In addition, it forms a vital branch in
distinguishing between a person and another.
Thus, we see that the artistic workshop here serves as a wide
dialogue of multiple branches and benefits in a lot of variables for
the participants at the occupational and psychological level of each
artist individually. Since man acquires or produces his culture in
his own way and gains his privacy through his own environment and as
man by his nature has a readiness and ability for variation and
change and dealing with the other; thus, the real output of this
event in question is the readiness, capability of change and
variation. This readiness is what means here sustaining social
efficiency and development criterion.
Therefore, we could say that the International Workshop in
Alexandria Atelier achieved perfectly its objective which is the
capability for variation, change and dealing with the other. This
was carried out through the dialogues of artists and their relations
with each other as well as assisting art students, all this and
their relation with the directors of the event and the output of
this in actual dialogue with the receiver of the performance
experiment which is the show presented through their artistic works.
This is the real standard of work, not the quality. This time we
mean the importance of its existence through its actual presence
derived from its subjective origins and working with its reference
through the artists themselves by their actual presence among us as
an environmental society aspiring for such actual interaction which
has been missing for a long time.
On our part as organizers and artists, we observe each moment
generated inside each artist whom we participated with the moment of
producing his artistic work or idea through his dialogue with
everything surrounding him. We can say that the idea of collective
international workshops is a brand new idea or an excellent idea and
they must be arranged every two years or each year in order to
present things. They actually move every stagnant and silent thing
whether inside us as creative persons or as students searching for
information or renewed ideas away from academic chains and limits
and liberate ourselves from them or as participating artists or
directors running financial and nominal matters and provide all
means of comfort fro those around them. Thus, we say that
international workshops at Alexandria Atelier made a great success
with the testimony of everybody that made all the attendants in the
cultural work and artists talk and whisper and wish participation
whether from close or far to be within this change which was not
formulated in the art or the artistic product but it was formed
inside the self i.e. the output had a pure moral return.
Hence, we can summarize what took
place in the workshop as follows:
20th - 21st
November 2006 from 10.00 a.m - 9.00 p.m:
Shows concerned with
artists presenting their artistic works for the audience or to each
other.
22nd - 28th
November 2006 from 10.00 a.m - 9.00 p.m:
Working hours of the
workshop.
29th November from 12.00
a.m - 7.00 p.m:
Inauguration party during which there is a lunch
invitation by the Atelier as a celebration of completing the
workshop work.
29th November from 8.00 p.m
- 10.00 p.m:
A work round table was arranged for all artists in
order to learn the positive and negative points and comments on the
workshop in order to avoid these points in future.
It was agreed upon among the
participating artists to send their reports concerning the workshop
within a week after their return to their countries.
Therefore, we would like to thank the sponsors and assistants
who contributed with all support whether financial or moral. We
would like to express our gratitude to all artists for their belief
in us in the achievement of the idea. We look forward to hold this
event again in order to repeat it in a
new scope.
sponsors
Ford Foundation - IIE
institute of international education - Al Mawred Al Thaqafy -
Artistic Syndicate in Alex - The Austrian Embassy - Samet fund in turkey - Slovenia
ministry - Omani Society in Oman - Africalia - Art Moves Africa -
Arts Council England - SDA in Alexandria .
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