3rd June - 16th October 2009
3rd Riwaq Biennale 2009
A Geography: 50 Villages Arabic PDF
What is the significance of these 50 Palestinian villages? What could they have in common with great cities of the world such as Sydney, Sao Paulo and Venice? Many things, no doubt, but the most important one is that, like their better known international counterparts, they have all been selected as locations for major art biennales. These particular 50 Palestinian villages will be the locations for the 3rd Riwaq Biennale to take place throughout Palestine from the 3rd June - 16th October 2009.
Biennales are often arenas for monumental spectacles - big canvases, flashy sculptures, frenetic installations. With over 100 biennales and triennales now taking place around the world, it can sometimes seem as if the world has become one vast exhibition venue and art market, with cities competing to stage ever more elaborate exhibits to lure the international art world. But as the locations become more varied, it can also seem as though the artwork, as well as the curatorial approaches, increasingly represent the homogenisation of art leading the the flattening of cultural diversity under the dictatorship of the international art market.
It is not easy to stand out in this increasingly crowded calendar. In addition, the conditions of cultural production under occupation make it hard to justify taking an extravagant approach to curating a biennale in Palestine. As a result, the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation has taken the decision to offer the public a quieter register through which to engage with the contemporary cultural landscape of Palestine. The 3rd Riwaq Biennale will be for and about 50 Palestinian villages. The selection of these 50 historic centres was based on their architectural significance and, most importantly, on their well-preserved architectural fabric.
The starting point of the Riwaq Biennale has always been to advance Riwaq's aim of protecting and promoting cultural heritage in Palestine. Another unusual feature of this Biennale is that it is named afteran organisation rather than a place. To emphasise this link with the organisation, the Biennale is structured around a series of visits, gatherings and projects in these 50 historic centres identified by Riwaq as being a priority to develop. In partnership with local institutions and communities, the aim is to use the Biennale as a way of creatingopportunities for achieving the organisation's central goal of protectiing, utilising and promoting cultural heritage in Palestine through tangible and intangible projects of rehabilitation and revitalisation.
In a radical shake-up of the biennale concept, this 3rd Riwaq Biennale will not feature any large-scale, central exhibitions. Instead, it will consist of a series of journeys between the fragmented and disparate locations, reflecting the fractured territory of Palestine. These journeys are conceived as a series of networking activities between local and international artists and theorists, providing the opportunity to develop ideas and artistic collaborations for the future. They will offer a series of curated conversations and interactions between Palestinian and international artists, and between architects, planners, conservationists, curators and theorists.
Through the deliberate omission of hype and spectacle, the Riwaq curatorial team aims to provide an alternative vision that challenges the perceptions and expectations of what a biennale can be. To add another dimension and to alter the accepted understanding of a biennale even further, the 3rd Riwaq Biennale will, in fact, open in Venice. "50 Local Pavillions" will be installed in the Venice Biennale's first ever Palestinian Pavillion as part of the 2009 53rd Venice Biennale. To celebrate this landmark event, the Riwaq's entire office will transfer to Venice to lead a series of lectures, discussions and visits. Part art installation, part campaign team, they will use a section of the allocated pavilion space to present an Open House for Riwaq during the opening days of the Venice Biennale.
Guests invited to participate in the 3rd Riwaq Biennale will use the Palestinian Pavilion to present ongoing projects and manifestations that investigate collective projects and consider new ways and methods of working. Participants will use the space as a departure point to consider the relevance of a biennale in Palestine and imagine the environs it takes place in.They will use the space to consider a notion of a biennale that reverberates beyond the physical confines of its place to rethink how such an event can stimulate, support and present cultural practices.
By focusing on the here and now, the 3rd Riwaq Biennale aims to question the roles of arts practitioners and interdisciplinary arts activities in relation to their communities and to the wider international artistic and professional community. By taking a more thoughtful approach to the biennale culture, the 3rd Riwaq Biennale is creating an opportunity not only to investigate the trappings of our cultural codes and practices, but also to look at ways of reconnecting isolated and walled Palestine to the international art world.
Khalil Rabah, Director, Riwaq Biennale
