Who: Liverpool Arab Arts Festival
When: 2018
As Festival Coordinator at Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, I produced and curated the visual arts offer for this year, alongside delivering the wider festival:
Tented Dreams | St George’s Hall, Liverpool
Syrian artist Mohammed Amari fled the devastation of the conflict in his country with few worldly possessions, among which were his watercolours and paintings. We are delighted to present a selection of Amari’s moving paintings.
Alongside his works we will be exhibiting artwork by refugees from the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan, with whom Amari has been working as a volunteer art teacher.
It was Paradise | Open Eye Gallery, Winter Gardens Space, Liverpool
Working in collaboration with Rachel Gadsden, I designed her artwork for her exhibition ‘It was Paradise’. Displayed on freestanding boards, the work provided a visual and written narrative for Gadsden’s project. All work, images and text were provided by Gadsden.
British artist Rachel Gadsden was awarded an Unlimited International commission in 2017 to collaborate with Palestinian artist Ali Saeid Ashour. The outcome is It was Paradise.
Located in London, Liverpool and the West Bank, and inspired by Palestinian poet and author Mahmoud Darwish’s poem Under Siege, the collaboration addresses global concerns about migration, the lingering flight of refugees, as well as the isolation of disabled and bereaved people. The project is exhibited on display stands outside Open Eye Gallery.