Meet the Artist will be held in honor of Mariam Hammoud.
The recent arrival of many new, talented Arab artists in Europe and The Netherlands is an enrichment for the art world. Not just in numbers but also in diversity, intellect, and perspective, a welcome addition to the landscape. What do these artists make and what is their inspiration? How can we connect to their work and what are the questions they have? For Dutch audiences and the professional scene? Ettijihat – Independent Culture and Dancing on the Edge work together with Het Huis Utrecht in order to make these connections.
Meet the Artist intersects the work of six Arab artists that have recently arrived in Europe. For one full day, in different spaces of Het Huis Utrecht, they present their current artistic research in a format of their choice (scene, try-out, experiment, lecture, etc.). In a tour through the building the audience gets an entire day to meet, interact and exchange knowledge with the artists and each other. Meet the Artist is a network event that aims to present some of the most promising and more established Arab artists, who are now living in Europe, offer them constructive feedback on their work-in-progress, and expand our own art’s horizon.
This event is a collaboration between Ettijahat – Independent Culture, Het Huis Utrecht and Dancing on the Edge.
During the day, The Atlantis Project also presents their artistic research in an interactive installation. At the end of the day, Dancing on the Edge Festival-exchange-powerduo DOX (Netherlands)/Koon Theatre Group (Syria/Lebanon) performs their newest work Grand Voyage.
ARTISTS AT WORK
Mey Seifan (Syria/Germany) sets up a series of tents as part of Siesta, a performance installation which continues her Syrian Dream Project, in which she takes a journey through the collective subconscious mind of dreaming Syrians.
Mey Seifan is a choreographer and in her work explores the influence of (un)consciousness on the body in everyday life as well as in times of war.
Mohammed Diban (Syria/Germany) takes Sufi dance as his point of departure and wants to merge its philosophy and structures with contemporary dance.
Mohammed Diban specializes in contemporary dance. Recently, Diban set up dance company Harake in Berlin.
Mohammad Abou Laban (Syria/Germany) presents the upcoming second issue of A Syrious Look, a magazine in which displaced writers, thinkers, storytellers and artists consider the concept of the enemy. Do we need an enemy? Do our enemies remain the same in exile? What happens to our enemy in times of peace?
Mohammad Abou Laban is active as a screenwriter, poet, playwright and journalist. He is one of the founders and editors of the magazine A Syrious Look.
Mohamed el Deep (Egypt/The Netherlands) presents a work-in-progress to open it up to questions. He examines the idea of communication before language. Were we human before we spoke? Why do we need words to define who we are?
Mohamed el Deep is an experienced performer and theater producer. He is interested in researching different social themes.
Mariam Hammoud (Lebanon/Germany) was an actress and director.
We are terribly sad to have to announce the passing away of Mariam on the 31st of October 2017. She was scheduled to appear during Meet the Artist. During the day we will honor and commemorate Mariam.
Amira Chebli (Tunisia/France) presents parts of In my Place, a performance and video project. A feminist work that portrays women, including Chebli herself, and their relationship with themselves through the body movement as a tool of expression.
Amira Chebli is a performer drawn to multidisciplinary performance. Her focus lies on acting and dancing, but she also sings and writes. She is currently working on Lemon Pie, a theater- and dance performance.
Practical Information: You are welcome from 9:30 and the event will start at 10:00. It is possible to have lunch during the event, but this is only available if you pre-order through this link!
The second edition of Meet the Artist will take place on January 21st 2019. Info and tickets here.
