“The local artist often acts in a world fraught with contradictions and a myriad of identities, cultures, languages and territories. What is his artistic code, and for whom does he paint? The artist wishes to be the voice of his people, his surroundings, his homeland and at the same time, to preserve the freedom of his thoughts, his feelings, his humanity and his individuality”.
This text could have been written by any art scholar anywhere in the world. The universality of the text, written by Farid Abu Shakra, in the context of the identity of the Palestinian artist, reflects the spirit of the new exhibition Spirit of man, spirit of place: artists of the Abu Shakra family in Ein Harod.
An alternative narrative of Israeli art
Who could be more suitable to correct this injustice, other than Dr. Galia Bar Or (co-curated with Dr. Housni Alkhateeb Shehada). For many years it has been her mission to shine a light on quality artists who were omitted from the Israeli art canon. The ivory tower of our local art history reflects only one of many possible narratives at any given time. There are always figures in power positions that determine what is considered good art. But there is hegemony and there is plurality – as in the title of an exhibition curated by Bar Or (with Dr. Gideon Ofrat) summarizing the first decade in art, on the occasion of the 60th Independence Day of the State of Israel.
On the one hand, we live in an age that embraces alternative narratives and corrective actions. It’s now all about female art, black art and art of ethnic minorities (as we saw quite a bit at the Venice Biennale). On the other hand, Israel is more polarized than ever and we are after an election campaign, in which the incitement and hatred towards the left, especially the Arabs, led to the rise of right-wing extremists who want the Arabs out of here. And it is at this particular moment in time (although the exhibition has been in planning for two years), that this exhibition opens and shines a spotlight on the universal aspects of Palestinian art. In the words of Dr. Galia Bar Or:
“I am so happy that the exhibition has opened now, after the elections, because it is an exhibition that is a generous demonstration of inclusion, despite the conflicts, acknowledging the pain on both sides. One can’t change history, but one also can’t erase the identity of those who live next to you, even if you don’t like it. This is not an ideological exhibition, on the contrary. It does not poke a finger in the eye but gives meaning through universal cultural richness.’
Ein Harod and Umm el- Fahem
Dr. Galia Bar Or lead the Mishkan Museum of Art in kibbutz Ein Harod for thirty years and thanks to her it became an important museum, characterized by a plurality of voices. This agenda has also been continued in recent years by head curator Yaniv Shapira and CEO Orit Lev-Segev. Therefore, it is most natural this important exhibition takes place there. Furthermore, the connection between the Mishkan and the art gallery in Umm Al Fahem has existed since its foundation in 1996, by the brothers Said and Farid Abu Shakra, after the death of their cousin Asim at the young age of 29 from cancer.
The Umm Al Fahem gallery’s mission is to highlight and honour Palestinian art and to bridge and build trust between Arabs and Jews.
According to Bar Or: “These two centers of art – Umm El Fahem and Ein Harod are similar due to the fact that they were both established in unlikely places. Constant effort is needed to maintain their existence. We function as sister museums, that emphasize the commonality like two sources of light working together.” The idea for the exhibition was born in collaboration with Said Abu Shakra, just before the epidemic.
Five solo shows
The exhibition itself consists of five solo exhibitions for each member of the family. The first and the founding father of the artistic dynasty was Walid, born in 1946, who showed talent from a young age, but it really was uncommon that in the sixties, a young man from Umm Al Fahem would go to study art at the Avni Institute and later – thanks to a scholarship – in London. In those days, when the extended Abu Shikara family lived around a large courtyard in Umm El Fahem, Walid would lead art activities for his younger brothers and cousins that instilled in them the love of art from a young age. Karim was born in 1982, into different circumstances, yet felt that his destiny was to continue the artistic legacy of the family.
Poetic emotion
Each of the artists in the exhibition has a different style and I will not elaborate here on each individual artist. I will say that I was fascinated by the richness of the different media, by the amazing drawings of Walid, Said and Asim, by Farid’s multi-disciplinarity and by Karim’s powerful self-portraits. At the same time, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. But there is also a pain that emanates from many of the works, the integral dissonance of living a split identity as Israeli arabs.This inherent conflict runs throughout the exhibition but is also accompanied by poetic emotion.
The spirit of our time
This kind of exhibition cannot happen without the generosity of many people and institutions, who own works by members of the Abu Shakra family and understand the importance of exhibiting them in the context of such a special exhibition. Galia Bar Or mentions the exceptional generosity of the Tel Aviv Museum. Among the generous collectors, some of whom wished to remain anonymous, was also a couple of Palestinian collectors, Yvette and Mazen Copti, who lent a rare work by Asim.The spirit of our time is accessibility, collaborations and generosity, and thus is the exhibition itself.
While politicians emphasize the difference between us and our neighbours, this exhibition does the opposite by spotlighting the commonality. In the words of Galia Bar Or: “Anyone who engages in incitement or exclusion – his soul will shrink.“ This is karma. The other option is to open up because once we are attentive to our surroundings, we grow. I felt myself changing and growing during the work on the exhibition”.
This is a must-see exhibition because it is heart-warming and full of hope, something many of us are missing these days.
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Debby – Thank you so much for giving those of us (English-speakers) unable to travel to Israel at this time a sense of this important exhibit.
While there has been much suffering and loss during the Covid pandemic, the “breaks” in daily routine gave Said abu-Shakra time in his studio to create art, and we are all richer for it.
suzi dessel
Trustee, American Friends of Umm el-Fahem Museum of Contemporary Art
e-mail: friendsofummelfahem@gmail.com
Thanks Suzi I agree regarding Said!