The British Council & Art School Palestine are delighted to announce Points of Departure, a group exhibition and public programme that culminates a year of collaboration with Delfina Foundation, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London.
The first outcomes of Points of Departure, will be presented in Ramallah in January and February 2013 before travelling in an expanded form to the ICA, as one of the highlights of the next Shubbak Festival in London, summer 2013.
The exhibition will feature new commissions resulting from six residencies in London and Ramallah by British and Palestinian artists: Jumana Emil Abboud, Bashar Alhroub, Bisan Abu Eisheh, Jeremy Hutchison, Olivia Plender, and Nathan Witt.
Devised with two curators-in-residence, Mirna Bamieh and Rebecca Heald, the works in Points of Departure are a thoughtful exploration of the anthropological concept of liminality. From the Latin word līmen, meaning ‘a threshold’, liminality is a condition in which one’s sense of identity is diffused, leading not only to states of dislocation and disorientation, but also to the possibility of new perspectives. Residencies can also be understood as a ‘liminal’ state between time and place. But what happens when the liminality of the residency is entwined with a place like Palestine, which is defined by its own political ambiguity and contestation?
In the face of globalisation, but without succumbing to false universalism, all Points of Departure artists undertook varieties of research to reveal a range of partial truths. At the ICA, they will be presented in different mediums including performance, video, installation, drawings, and intervention.
Opening days/times: 15 January - 7 February (Sun-Thu, 11:00—19:00)
Address: Al Mahatta Gallery, Near Bank of Palestine, Ramallah
For further details visit http://www.artschoolpalestine.com/
