Umm el-Fahem Art Gallery |

Memory and Geography – Cluster exhibitions

Archive Floor

Cluster exhibitions under the title: "Memory and Geography" consists of five exhibitions which are on show at the exhibitions spaces of the gallery, all dealing with the links between the definition of a place, a domain, borders of a realm and private and collective memories. On the archive floor a group photography exhibition and a documentary exhibition made by cooperation between two international artists,

Shadows of Time: Photographic documentation of the Elders of Wadi 'Ara, 2007-2012

Curator: Guy Raz. Academic Consultant : Prof. Mustafa Kabaha

A group photography exhibition with the participation of Amar Younes, Shai Aloni and the Fa'our family. The photographs, made between 2008-2012, contain portraits of elder people in their eighties, citizens of Wadi 'Ara before 1948. The photographs were taken in the space of their residence today, mostly houses built after the establishment of Israel. The houses are not made from clay and traditional stone of the village but concrete houses of the contemporary cities. External and internal conflicts as well as physical and mental template seep into the houses. This template contains the historical and cultural identity of the inhabitants

Doris Bloom (Norway) in cooperation with William Kentridge (South Africa), Memory & Geography: “Fire/Gate,” 1995, The First Biennale for Art, Johannesburg, South Africa

Bloom, born in South Africa, is a performance artist active in Norway. Kentridge, is the most prominent South African artist on the contemporary art scene, known for his sketches, video and works of animation, which deal with relationships based on power and dominance, exploitation and freedom, on both the local and universal level. The artistic collaboration between Kentridge and Bloom, shown as a documentary exhibition, while falls into a category somewhere between performance and earthwork, included two special events in public, where the artists ignited monumental fire sketches on the ground, in the shape of a gate and a human heart.

Between Vision and Reality

By Said Abu Shakra, Director of the gallery and the creator of the concept of future Umm el-Fahem Museum of Contemporary Art

The city of Umm el-Fahem, an Arab city in Israel, lies on the slope of Mt. Iskander and the adjacent hills, overlooking the important historical route that once connected large and distant regions of a war-torn land. Many people and various cultures wound their way along the Wadi at the foot of the mountain, thus making it a pivotal crossroads and a major link in the development and future of the entire region.

Fifty thousand people reside in this now fast-growing community, destined to become a central cultural meeting place for the large, dense concentration of Arab population in the Wadi's surroundings by virtue of its location and unique qualities. For centuries the local residents have cultivated the land that became the source of their dignity, pride and livelihood. This persistent connection with the land has given rise to a diverse and fascinating culture encompassing fashion, poetry, pottery and building, as well as various customs and traditions.

The war that broke out tore the rich, delicate cultural fabric. In its wake, the large settlement became a place of gloomy corners and dark alleys. Families were scattered, leaving years of hard work and a devastated culture behind. The once rich and sprawling town was now poor and struggling to survive. Its residents were no longer masters of their own faith; they became persecuted refugees. Poverty, unemployment, and an identity crisis brought about one of the worst battles for survival the city has ever had to face. Under difficult social and political circumstances the community forged ahead with a clear message of protest, becoming the vanguard of the entire Arab population in Israel.

It was into this harsh and complex reality that the Umm el-Fahem Art Gallery was born. Within a short period of time it became a center of culture and activity for the whole region. A sense of commitment to the past as well as to the future of the place motivates the people who continue steadfastly and lovingly to operate the Gallery. The mission is clear. Whatever was destroyed by the war should be rebuilt. This should be done at once, without compromise, and with a great effort. We realize that it is our heavy and long-term responsibility to rebuild, collect, study, commemorate and present all we can pertaining to the Arab and Palestinian culture that was crushed. The output of this work will be incorporated into a large building, the first ever Arab museum to provide a bridge between past, present and future, a home to a vision that will reinstate people with happiness, pride, and a sense of belonging.

The idea to establish a museum was born in a vast and anguished void, a devastating lack of professional staff, of resources and infrastructure. The Gallery started operating out of a sense of awareness and responsibility for the future, aiming to pave a new way in a new direction. The means are meager and the road is long and arduous. With only the existing means we have embarked on several different activities. Artists, curators and other professionals from different countries and cultures have been invited to take part in this joint collaboration. The Gallery has become an important social and cultural meeting place. The creative workshops, seminars, gallery talks, symposiums, the many art exhibitions and unique display spaces have turned it into a central place in the local and international culture scene.

The Gallery is now on its way to becoming the first Arab museum of contemporary art in Israel. This museum will be an inviting, embracing and enriching place, capable of bridging gaps and connecting different cultures that live side by side in the heart of a troubled, war weary region. We shall strive to raise a generation steadfastly true to its culture and identity, a generation that will take responsibility for its life and its future; a generation of proud and deep-rooted young people, committed to reclaiming the wilderness and to pursuing peace.

Shadows of Time:Photographic documentation of the Elders of Wadi ‘Ara, 2007-2012

The first mention of Umm el-Fahem is in a written document from 1262. The villagers earned their living by preparing charcoal from the trees of the neighboring groves, or that they would bring from far away, and heap in piles, for them to burn internally. Umm-el-Fahem, which means “the source of the charcoal,” derives its name from this.

The Umm-el-Fahem Art Gallery hosted “Memories of a Place,” a photographic exhibition, in 2008. No photographic history of Arab settlements in the Wadi Ara region had existed prior to then, since the historical photos of the region and its inhabitants that had been shot, were not kept in any archive, printed in books or put on show. One chapter of the “Memory of a Place” exhibition dealt with photographer Shai Aloni documenting the elders of Wadi Ara in the salon (“diwan”) of their homes. The photos helped us understand not only the old men captured in them, but the interior configuration of the room where guests are welcomed, all complemented by the verbal evidence from the video interviews, which were photographed and edited by the gallery staff. “Memory of a Place” laid down a infrastructure for the development of a historical archive, offering a residents of the area and visitors to the museum, a unique and original look on the Wadi Ara’s past. The current exhibition, “Shadows of Time: Photographic documentation of the elders of Wadi 'Ara", developed out of this infrastructure.

The pictures for the catalogue were photographed over a five-year period (2007-2012), and all are portraits of people whose average age is about 80 – Palestinian Israelis, Arab Muslims, citizens of the State of Israel. Most of them had lived in Wadi Arabefore 1948 and some in nearby villages that were destroyed once the 1948 war ended. The photographs show them in the places and homes where they live now most of which were constructed after the founding of the State of Israel. Thus, the construction is not the brick and stone of traditional rural architecture, but of the sort concrete characteristic of urban and suburban design. The courtyard and patio are outside the house, and the diwan or salon is inside. The contrasts – external/internal; physical/mental – seep into the form of the buildings in which the subjects of the photographs live, vessels of sort for their cultural and historical identity.

The elders of Wadi Ara answered the call and faced the cameras. Some, as documented in Shay Alony’s photographs, dressed in their traditional garb and seated in their in their own salon/diwan. Some sat on their patio, in their courtyard, or at work, dressed in everyday clothing, as we can see in Ammar Younes’ photos, while others were captured by the camera as they looked straight ahead, as though posing for a portrait,as documented in the work of Wijdan and Khaled Fa'our.

The willingness of the wadi elders to sit in front of the representatives of historical documentation – the photographers – enabled the latter to pass on an intimate glimpse of the faces of the elders, and of their homes and living spaces. In this way, they are passing the heritage of visual memory – something sorely lacking in Arab society -to future generations. It is the memory of the Arab house, their house; the memory of how they dressed; the memory of their look. It would be the last official memory for most of them.

Academic adviser: Prof. Mustafa Kabha & Curator: Guy Raz

The Catalog of Shadows of Time Photo Documentation of the Elders of Wadi 'Ara 2007-2012

The Blooming of Spring

Historical Archive

Between Vision and Reality