Curated by Hala Abdelmalak, Beyond the Cloth presents the Kafiye as a tool of artistic expression to examine emotional and socio-political questions of identity, through themes like trauma, loss, remembrance, the private versus the public, struggle, rejection, national unity, resistance, expression, memory and Orientalism. The featured artists and designers fuse connections between the West and the Arab World, starting with their own personal stories and struggles and connecting to bigger topics of consciousness and circumstance.
Event:
Beyond the Cloth: The Kafiye Project
Exhibition
A mix of award-winning, established, and emerging artists of diverse backgrounds and mediums have been invited to participate in the exhibit: Zena El Khalil, Bahram Hajou, Hassan Hajjaj, Roger Moukarzel, Osama Esid, Kevork Mourad, threeAsfour, Chadi Younes, Houmam Al Sayed, Sabyl Ghoussoub, Muhyiddin Sadek, Tony khoueiry, Chris Carr, Marianna Zoghbi, Oussamah Ghandour, Gabriel Ferneine, Wael Hattar and Saffaa. The two winners of the Kafiye Project Competition, Reem Bassous and Nour Abu Hayeh will have their work featured in the show as well.
There will also be work shown by Mary Mattingly, Romulo Sans, Wojtek Ulrich, Sotoca, Tania Candiani, Larissa Sansour, Carolee Shneeman, Yucef Merhi and Igor Molochevsky.
All the pieces will be shown in New York for the first time, and most are created specifically for the show. The Kafiye Project is a global initiative, and Beyond the Cloth is a travelling exhibition that will launch in NYC and move to Europe, Asia and the Middle East in 2014.