"Out of the Gallery: Celebrating Women in Culture"
A Public Art Project
“Palestinian women are the guardians of our eternal torch and continued existence”
Darwish
Ramallah- March 30, 2009 Today, on Palestinian Land Day, we announce the public art project "Out of the Gallery: Celebrating Women in Culture" in the Ottoman Court Building, Ramallah. The European Commission is funding 69% of this 72 thousand Euro project, developed and implemented through the partnership of The Women's Affairs Technical Committee and The Open Workshop for Culture and Art. The partners share a commitment in illuminating the role Palestinian women play in contemporary art, literature and cultural heritage. This project is proudly participating in the "Jerusalem Arab Capital of Culture 2009" celebration. The resulting 20 meter long sculpted public mural will be divided in two and placed in occupied East Jerusalem and Ramallah, symbolizing the current physical separation of the united Palestinian people.
The activities of this project will contribute toward the promotion of women's many contributions toward development of Palestinian society, specifically illuminating those in the fields of literature, art, and culture. Through cultural exchanges with European artists, this project will offer the artistic community innovative skills and techniques in the field of public art. In turn, the daily life of Palestinian society will benefit from increased awareness of and exposure to art and culture through a series of workshops and cultural exchanges. Specifically, dissemination of newly acquired skills and concepts into artistic educational arenas, with an emphasis on civil equity and gender equality, will be at the heart of this project.
Completion of project activities, in September 2009, will yield the largest sculpted mural (at 20 * 5 meters) throughout the occupied Palestinian Territories. The resulting art will reflect the diversity of perspectives and life-experiences which exist within contemporary Palestinian society; as the participating artists are coming from throughout the region (Gaza, Nablus, Jerusalem, Haifa, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and the Golan).
The 10 participating Palestinian artists were selected by an artistic committee subsequent to a public competition and will work alongside professional art instructors from European Member states. Along with exchanging artistic techniques and concepts with the European artists, they will take part in cultural exchange activities throughout Palestinian society. Each of the Palestinian artists (half of whom are women) will be awarded a scholarship of 1,040 Euros to facilitate their participation. Alongside their personal training and artistic undertaking (with the creation of the public mural), they will each participate in educational workshops where they will pass on their newly acquired skills to other art professionals. Additionally they will conduct community workshops open to the whole of Palestinian society to participate in this exceptional event honoring Palestinian women.
