“SO CLOSE IN THE DISTANCE” – YOUNG ARAB VIDEO ART

Many in Europe were taken completely by surprise by the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia. For a long time, we were used to seeing the countries of the Arab world presented as unchangeable, traditionalist societies. The dynamics and the young people’s quest for individual freedom on the streets did not seem to fit into this picture at all.
And yet the artistic productions by this generation clearly show that there has been a great divide between the world of Arab youths and those in power for a long time, and that young people are highly critical of the prevailing conditions.

In their works, young video artists and filmmakers address a multitude of socio-cultural and socio-political topics. In the process, taboo subjects are dealt with in a manner considered by outsiders to be surprisingly liberal. Not only the impact of war and civil war on society, and the official writing of history and rhetoric are challenged but also gender roles and how images and the media are dealt with. The international stigmatisation of Arabs in the western perception plays a central role for many artists of the Arabic diaspora.

The programme “So close in the distance”, to be presented by curator Charlotte Bank, will show the positions of artists from various Arab countries, including Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. They constitute a multitude of aesthetic and experimental approaches.

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In next week’s newsletter: Media Art Garden - a cooperation project with the Media Art Flow Festival in Almelo/NL

// CONCEPT AND FESTIVAL MANAGEMENT
Hermann Nöring, Alfred Rotert, Ralf Sausmikat.

// SPONSORS
nordmedia - Die Mediengesellschaft Niedersachsen/Bremen mbH
City of Osnabrück
German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
German Federal Foreign Office
Kulturstiftung des Bundes
Kulturstiftung der Länder
Foundation of Lower Saxony
Europa fördert Niedersachsen
European Regional Development Fund
EU/Culture Programme
150 Years of Friendship Germany - Japan
University of Osnabrück
Canadian Embassy
Grenswerte, funded by Euregio
Cybob Communications

// MEDIA PARTNERS
arte
le monde diplomatique

// CULTURAL PARTNERS
NDR Kultur

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