The Mosaic Rooms announce cultural programme for early 2011
The Mosaic Rooms, a leading independent arts space in Kensington, are delighted to announce a vibrant and thought-provoking programme for early 2011. In the mix are an exhibition of war photography from award-winning photographer Kai Wiedenhöfer, a new collection from fashion designer OmarJoseph Nasser-Khoury and a showcase of some of the best Palestinian artists under 30 with the A.M. Qattan Foundation’s 2010 Young Artist of the Year award.
Kai Wiedenhöfer: The Book of Destruction
28 January – 12 February 2011
For over 20 years German photographer Kai Wiedenhöfer has documented the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2009, he won the inaugural Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Prize, a competition in which photographers were assigned the subject of the Gaza Strip and awarded a grant to undertake a new body of work around it.
In November 2009, Wiedenhöfer returned to Gaza to witness and record the destruction of its buildings and the injuries inflicted on its inhabitants during the Israeli offensive, known as Cast Lead. The result is a harrowing collection of landscapes and portraits that are at once deeply moving yet full of humanity and dignity – an uncompromising indictment of the ruthless immorality of war.
OmarJoseph Nasser-Khoury: Silk Thread Martyrs
18 February – 9 March 2011
To mark London Fashion Week, the Mosaic Rooms will showcase a new collection by Palestinian fashion designer OmarJoseph Nasser-Khoury. Featuring 22 individual garments, the collection uses the techniques of traditional weaving to reflect the realities of contemporary Palestine and create a new transformed and subverted look that explores gender, duty and social constraints. The design and production of each garment, created using traditional techniques such as embroidery and natural dyes, will be explored through the exhibition.
2010 Young Artist of the Year Award
Part 1:18–31 March 2011
Part 2: 8-21 April 2011
Seven of the finalists from the A.M. Qattan Foundation’s biennial award are showcased in the UK for the first time, in an exhibition featuring paintings, sculpture, and mixed media installations. Amongst the artists are first prize winners Ahmad & Mohammad Abu Nasser (Tarzan and Arab), with ‘Gazawood’, a collection of Hollywood posters and accompanying “film”, re-imagined to reflect the artists’ own personal experience in Gaza. An international jury selected eleven young artists from an initial long list of 45 applicants. These then received support from the A.M. Qattan Foundation to develop and produce their works. The exhibition will be shown in two parts.
Other events to look forward in the first half of 2011 include the second annual Edward W Said Lecture held at the British Museum in May. The inaugural lecture, Oriental Masquerade: Fiction and Fantasy in the Wake of the Arabian Nights, was given by Professor Marina Warner and this year’s lecture will be given by Professor Rashid Khalidi. The Mosaic Rooms also run regular film screenings and literary events. Further information on events at The Rooms can be found at www.mosaicrooms.org.
The Mosaic Rooms are an exhibition, event and workshop space in Kensington, west London. They were opened to the public in 2008 and provide a central London exhibition space for artists and writers from and connected to the Middle East, allowing the public to access groundbreaking artwork and to hear some of the most exciting, progressive and innovative contemporary creative voices from the region for free. The Rooms are part of the Culture and Arts Programme of the A.M. Qattan Foundation.