Starting on the 2nd of May the exposition Welcome to the End of History can be seen in the completely renovated Tolhuistuin Pavillion in Amsterdam. This is the first part of the triptych Crisis of History- Art, Memory and Resistance in the Middle East, curated by Robert Kluijver. In the triptych, young artists from the Middle East examine the dream of modernism and what now remains of it. Despite the fact that the crisis in the Middle East is often presented as a conflict between fundamentalism and Western-oriented liberalism, these artists portray a region that is already deeply rooted in the 21st century, with its own concepts of citizenship which transcends the usual assumptions.
As one of the events related to the exhibition, Dancing on the Edge, Cineblend, and Framer Framed present on May the 20th an evening featuring expatriate Iraqi artists from different disciplines. Their work reflects on their own personal history, which is inseparable from the history of and events in their country of origin. The three artists all live in Europe, but in their work still emphasize a strong connection to their homeland.
The participating guests are: Urok Shirhan, Mokhallad Rasem, Muhanad Rasheed.
The moderator of the evening is Ozkan Gölpinar, writer, art critic, and filmmaker. Gölpinar is presently associated with the research program Contemporary Art Beyond Boundaries (CAbB) of Leiden University.
