Two sisters bring performance art to Syria
| Damascus, Syria
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
Abir Boukhari is on a roll. An art producer who manages her family鈥檚 poultry-equipment business on the side, she has formed the innovative 鈥淎ll Art Now鈥� collaborative with her younger sister, visual artist Nisrine Boukhari. Together they have made a space for multimedia and performance art in Damascus.
Nisrine graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Damascus, where students often cite 厂测谤颈补鈥檚 foremost modernist, Fateh Moudarres, as a source of inspiration. But the sisters were motivated to learn more about alternative mediums, such as video.
In 2008, Abir bought a dilapidated space in the heart of the Jewish quarter, mostly abandoned since the emigration tide in the early 1990s, and repurposed it into a place for art. A handful of artists, such as prominent sculptor Mustafa Ali, have studios nearby.
Art installations occupy each of the rooms, including one by young visual artist Muhammad Ali, called 鈥淭rickery.鈥� His space is filled by a filing cabinet with shoes neatly placed before it. An audio of banging and breathing from inside the cabinet plays continuously, sounding as if someone is trapped inside. However, peering into the cabinet鈥檚 keyhole, viewers are confronted with a bird鈥檚-eye view video of themselves as they peer in.
鈥淪ome traditional artists who came liked it, and some were really angry and started to yell,鈥� Abir said. 鈥淏ut what I really like is [that] we have young people who were not involved in art before and now ask me about new projects.鈥�
In a country where writers, journalists, and bloggers receive the brunt of state censorship, artists appear to have a freer rein for expression.
鈥淎ll Art Now鈥� drew attention with its video art festivals in 2009 and 2010, which screened the work of Syrian and international artists in public spaces.
鈥淭he idea was to introduce video art to different people,鈥� says Abir, including other artists.
Abir is now preparing a third arts festival called 鈥淟iving Spaces.鈥� She muses about potential locations for the video installations and performances, including an old bomb shelter-turned-gallery.
Her neighbor, successful painter Nazir Ismail, respects her perspective. 鈥淎bir鈥檚 events inspire people to be creative.... Art is free. And when you have this freedom ... [it] generates discussion.鈥�
[Editor's note: This article's title summary was clarified after publication.]
