Tamkeen in Bethlehem - Faten Nastas

Most of the Tamkeen workshops were conducted in the Old City of Jerusalem. Although several were held at the premises of Al-Ma’mal itself, partner institutions also hosted the workshops. Jumana Abboud taught at the Burj Al Laqlaq Centre, Raeda Saadeh at the Old City Youth Association, St. Dimitri’s Orthodox School and St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Youth Club and Jawad Al-Malhi and Tina Sherwell taught at the Spafford Children’s Centre. However, Al-Ma’mal’s good relationship with institutions in Bethlehem meant that there were also workshops conducted there. One of these, an introduction to contemporary art, was facilitated by Faten Nastas at the International Centre of Bethlehem.

1.What were you doing in 2003 and how did you first get involved with Al-Ma'mal's Bethlehem workshop?
Since August 1998, I had been working as the Art Co-ordinator at the International Centre in Bethlehem (ICB). I was responsible for all the activities related to Contemporary Fine Art and to Craft as well. As part of my work, I helped in establishing the "The Cave" Arts & Crafts centre (in Arabic it is called al-Kahf), especially the "Cave Gallery", and the Cave workshop complex. Al-Kahf Centre belongs to the ICB.

The staff of al-Ma'mal, especially Jack Persekian & Jumana Abboud, had known me since I was a student at Bezalel Academy. I graduated from Bezalel in 1998 so kept a good relationship with them and they were aware of my work in Bethlehem.

2. Can you tell me about your approach to the workshop and how you got such varied results?
I had different and various ideas for the workshop. However, my main goal was to introduce the youth to the ‘wide world of the Contemporary Art’, and encourage them to explore new languages for expressing themselves and ideas. So, my approach was more theoretical and philosophical at the beginning. I showed them different works of famous contemporary artists, different techniques, concepts and topics. We had lots of discussions. Then, the second half of the course was practical: after discussing with the youth various ideas, and after choosing their topic and their desired language, I worked as a facilitator helping them or directing them to the know-how and the technicalities of making their work.

3. What were the main challenges during your workshop?
After such a long time, and after celebrating a very successful activity, it is difficult to remember the challenges. I think that my enthusiasm about it was much more than the challenges. However, I remember that in some discussions, it was difficult to reach a few of the young participants. I mean that they were not so open-minded, and heir way of thinking, as well as their work, was not able to embrace something more deep and profound.

Besides, I remember that in the last few sessions, it was hard for me to follow and help each participant individually. It took more time and effort than I expected. But, this is of course due to the technical variety. I remember that 2 students did video works, others did photography, others installation, and there was also sound installation. So, each participant had different demands and I was their only guide.

4. What are your strongest memories of this period?
My strongest memory is how we used to discuss "Art issues", also personal stories and critiques of society. The group of students were great and the majority were very open-minded and spoke about personal stories very openly. This encouraged everyone to take the course seriously and profoundly. It was also like a "soul healing workshop". I was also very happy to see how determined the participants were, they were very proud of themselves and they really worked hard to complete their work and to do the final installation. I will never forget how proud they were during the opening, when they shared the outcome with their families and friends.

5.Did the experience have any impact on your subsequent work?
The experience was enjoyable and I think it empowered me to work more with youth. The following year we had a very successful project at the ICB, where we worked with more than 150 students from different 10 local schools, using "Installation Art as an Advocacy tool for Youth Concerns". Also as part of my work at the ICB, I was a member of the team who worked on the establishment of the Dar al-Kalima College. Today, I am the chairperson of the Visual Arts Department, and I enjoy very much working more and more with Youth and adults. I am sure that this had also an impact on my individual work as an artist, but, I am not sure if I can define it now.

I also have become an observer of Art in Jerusalem and in Palestine. I give lectures about the "Art in Palestine" in our College and abroad. I have actually just come back from an international conference in Sweden where I gave 3 lectures about Contemporary Palestinian Art.

The Tamkeen Workshops

As noted earlier, the generous Ford Foundation grant in 1998 enabled Al-Ma’mal to start up and had covered the first two years of its activities. Subsequent grants from Ford followed and the Foundation remains one of Al-Ma’mal’s strongest sponsors to this day.

Another longstanding relationship is with the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem, a supporter from the very early days when Anadiel and the French Cultural Centre were neighbours on Salahuddin. Such cooperation and practical support from foreign consulates and cultural centres in Jerusalem has been a consistent feature in the life of both Anadiel and Al-Ma’mal. In the early 2000s in particular, funding was mostly secured in the form of small development grants or from cultural cooperation budgets. These included grants from the Society for Austro-Arab Relations (SAAR), World Vision and the European Commission. Although these could not provide for the scope of activities that bodies such as Ford could enable, they covered almost all of the artist-in residence workshops and exhibitions between 2000 and 2002, and also contributed to essential running costs. A relationship established with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) at this time also continued for several years. In 2002, however, an opportunity arose to submit a proposal for another major injection of workshop funding:

After Bethlehem 2000 I quit the arts sector for a while and got my next job at USAID. Eventually in 2002 I went to London to do my masters but during this time I wrote a funding proposal which Jack submitted to Tamkeen, a development programme working under the USAID umbrella. This had no direct connection to my job but it was useful because I understood through working there exactly what Tamkeen and USAID wanted from this project and it fitted exactly with what Al Ma'mal could do. (Samar Martha, 2010)

This made a new series of workshops both feasible and timely and meant that they could be properly planned incorporating all the experience from the workshops undertaken in the first four years. It also meant that specific artist-tutors could be employed on a longer term basis than residency artists and thus develop in-house expertise and an evolving teaching programme.