Artist-in-Residence Interview – Alban Biaussat 2006

In 2006, Al-Ma’mal very efficiently utilised many of its artists-in-residence as contributors to the workshop, exhibitions and creative encounters programmes. As well as being residents Alban Biaussat, Wafa Yassin, Desiree Palmen, Mario Rizzi, Alain Gignoux and Nikolaj Skyum Bendix Larsen either gave artist’ talks, conducted workshops or had exhibitions. In some cases all three. A’laa Khanjar also conducted a workshop in 2006.

What follows are transcripts of interviews conducted with several of the Artists-in-Residence during this period. First Alban Biaussat.

1. How did you first get involved with Al Ma'mal?

I first contacted Al Ma'mal upon my arrival in Jerusalem in July 2002, (I came for other professional motives), as I was looking into the local art scene, searching for some sort of organisation or platform to associate with in order to engage in a photo / art projects. I had no particular idea of what  I wanted to do at the time, and was mostly looking for other people to discuss and do something with. It took me a couple of years to have the idea of the Green(er) Side of the Line project and about a year to do it, on my own. I only came back to Al Ma'mal once I had shot most of the photos, to show them my project and see what we could do about it. They found it interesting and decided to support its post-production and the organisation of an exhibition within the framework of their residency programme.

2. What were the main challenges during your residency / workshop at Al Ma'mal?
As  I was already living in Jerusalem, I did not need the usual support of a residency programme in Palestine. My understanding is that Al Mamal typically does not finance the post production of residency projects but the realisation parts. In my case it was the opposite and it proved most useful as that was what i most needed to take my idea and work out to the public. Al Ma'mal people helped with the editing of the exhibition, financed the costs of high quality scanning, printing and mounting, organised the exhibition in their space in the Old City for over two months, and helped organise other solo shows in Ramallah (Sakakini Centre) and with Birzeit's art museum. On my side i agreed to participate in their workshop series involving 10-20 Palestinian kids from Jerusalem. Al Mamal works with great cultural staff who contributed a lot to the workshops and helped me manage the participants and with translations in Arabic.


The objective of this series of workshop was to bring these kids, aged 7-16 if i remember correctly, to create some work related to the Green Line, either as a visual production and/or as an interpretation of the notion of border, separation etc. During first workshops, we showed them other relevant art works, i explained to them my Green Line project, we then encouraged them to work on imagining and sketching the creations they would like to produce. I also gave them an introduction to photography and encouraged them to practice. We then went for an entire afternoon in a park where they realised their ideas. A group worked using their bodies, others with natural elements, and a third group with artificial materials, and all took photos of their realisations. These were printed and the final workshop was dedicated to discussing the results and selecting which ideas and works to finally exhibit. Overall, i very much appreciated this experience, for i think, some of the kids at least, have enjoyed it too ! The main challenge, or say my main regret, was that i could not directly engage fully with many of them because of the language barrier.

3. What impact did the experience have on your own work?
It was important, in the sense that it gave me confidence in exploring further my photo documentary practice, which insists on a large degree of creativity, backed with solid content and analysis, to deal with complex and polarized issues. I also appreciated the support and liberty that Al Mamal gave me to organise activities on the side of the Green Line project and exhibition, from film screenings, debate with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, to the renting of a bus to take 50 people along the line. Mixing art with other forms of expressions, whether official, serious or recreative, to promote an idea or illustrate complex situations, has been a matter of sustained interest on my side. Although, they were many other reasons for my choice to leave Jerusalem in late 2006, to return to Europe and develop my photography further, this experience has contributed a great deal to it. I have since produced several other bodies of work, which follow the same ambition and practice, several about Palestine and Israel again. Al Mamal later agreed to exhibit one of them, called Rainbow Stickers, in its first edition of the Jerusalem Show in 2008.

4. What are your strongest memories of your time there?
I have strong memories of the realisation part, when i used to travel all around the territory, putting my ribbons and green balls in various places, which led me into a few comic or unexpected situations. But i guess a strong memory of my collaboration with Al Mamal has been when i finally saw the Green Line exhibit up on the walls. After 2 or 3 years thinking about this project and imagining how best to represent an invisible border, quite unsure of my choice until the end, i expected that it could work, or not, depending on general impression that one would have seeing all these photos with their green ribbons and balls when exhibited together. One photo or two could have been sufficient to promote the concept, but systematically representing the line in its various locations, and showing a quite important number of images (55 in the exhibition) all with a green reference gives this work more documentary credibility and reinforces its visual force and coherence. And i was rather pleased with the results, also because of the quality of the printing and mounting of the photographs. But of course, if i had to do it again now, i might change a few things...

5. Do you have any additional comments about Al-Ma'mal and the art scene in Jerusalem at that time?

I spent 5 years in Jerusalem, working on policy matters related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, in parallel with my activities as a photographer. This has certainly affected the way i lived my time here and how perceived the place, but it has also given me access to many different situations. I left Jerusalem in late 2006 with a feeling that almost everything had been already written, said or argued about this conflict, which was trapped in words, and sometimes in representations of anecdotes. The reality of course for those who live it daily is another thing. The last interesting tool for resistance and pacification, in a context of war of information led by spins on all sides, seemed to me to be creativity and some sense of humour and mockery, to promote alternative views. All of which can be best mixed together and promoted in art. I was then interested to see how both Israelis and Palestinians seemed to fight this war of information with growing references to cultural and fashionable productions. This seemed to me as having a great potential, especially on the Palestinian side, to change so many widespread perceptions. Therefore, i have always valued Al Mamal's work and objectives, in addition to its invaluable contribution to bring some ceative light to the Palestinian neighborhoods and people of East Jerusalem. By the time I left, it was my impression that the Palestinian cultural scene was gaining momentum, with new centres, galleries, festivals etc opening in East Jerusalem, the West Bank as well as internationally, all of which deserve to be encouraged as much as possible, not forgetting Gaza.

Alban Biassat
Interview July 2010
WEBSITE
http://www.albanbiaussat.com/indexprojects.html

Creative Encounters 2005

Workshops in 2005 were mostly conducted by the in-house expertise of Jumana Abboud and Raeda Saadeh plus an additional photography workshop conducted by Wissam Faraj. All the work produced was given its own exhibition at Al-Ma’mal. Another aspect of Al-Ma’mal which became much more active in these years was the Creative Encounters Programme which consisted of artist talks, film screenings and debates. Most of the resident artists at this point gave talks about their work in the context of their residency exhibitions, but there were also talks by visiting writers, journalists and photographers. These included people such as British photographer J.C. Tordai whose images taken in Palestine over a period of more than 20 years remain among the most iconic images of the place and the people.

The films screened as part of the Creative Encounters covered a wide international range and included the works of directors such as Peter Greenaway, Samira Makmalbahf, Krystof Kieslowski and Emir Kusturica.

Palestine also made several films of its own during this period through the ‘Swiss-Palestinian Film Encounters’. This project was a collaboration between Al-Ma’mal and two film production houses in Switzerland – AKKA Films and LAGO Films. A series of workshops on documentary scriptwriting, directing and cinema were conducted with a group of 24 young Palestinians in Ramallah. The project involved Geneva filmmaker Nicolas Wadimoff and three other Swiss film professionals: Fernand Melgar, Jean Perret and Joëlle Comé. The team along with Palestinian co-ordinators such as photographer and filmmaker Issa Freij worked with the group over a period of six months and then invited proposals from the participants for short films on the theme of ‘Mt Home’. Five were selected and provided a unique opportunity for young filmmakers to conceive, develop and successfully complete their own documentary films.

The Fourth Room by Nahed Awwad
Abu Jamil owns a bookshop in Ramallah. Nothing has changed in his shop since the 1960s. The filmmaker asks him about his dreams and his troubles, about Nasser and the Palestine of earlier years, and about… the secret room, where precious pictures of the past are kept.

The Guardian of Boredom by Mazen Saadeh
Mazen works as an employee in the offices of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Although there is nothing to do, the employees are obliged to put in their hours under the watchful eye of a department head, who is very strict about schedules.

Summer of ’85 by Rowan al Faquih
There is nothing left on this patch of land. At most a few stones and an almond tree. Yet it was here that Rowan spent the most peaceful days of her childhood, surrounded by the love of her grandparents and her cousin from America. One day, war broke out…

Second Halftime by Saed Abu Hmud
“The football club is my home,” says Saed Abu Hmud, the film’s director. Originally from Bethlehem, he takes us on a trip down the memory lane of his childhood to the football field of the Catholic community of Salesian brothers. Through his recollections of those years, the first Intifada is depicted.

East To West by Enas Muthaffar
A wall is being built. Enas’s family are compelled to move, otherwise they will find themselves on the wrong side. She was born in the apartment they must now leave behind. Her father was born in a house at Jaffa that he was forced to abandon in 1948. Each generation has had to face a move…

J.C. Tordai

Anne-Marie Filaire - Artist in Residence 2004 / 2005

1. How did you first get involved with Al-Ma'mal?

I met Jack Persekian in Paris at the end of 2000. The year before I had began photographing landscapes in Palestine and I was presenting at that time, the exhibition, “Jerusalem Jericho Gaza”, in Paris. We remained in contact. In March 2004, Al-Ma’mal presented the exhibition “Deserted Spaces” (work done at the border between Eritrea and Ethiopa) and invited me to be artist-in-residence. It was a time of great tension, the construction of the wall was beginning and contact between the populations had broken down. It was at this moment that I began to record the changes in the landscape around Jerusalem, to note down and to photograph the landscapes in order to preserve the memory of the places. I continued this work over time, anticipating the next stage, confinement.

2. What were the main challenges of working in Jerusalem and Palestine?

Working in Jerusalem and Palestine meant a long-term engagement - confronting this violence and the necessity of acting as a witness to it. I must point out that I have always worked with the two sides, in Israel and also in the Occupied Territories and that my work is situated within this movement. It was an investigation of transfers, I didn't want to represent this confinement, but rather work within it.

What remains in the images is a spreading out of space while paradoxically the same space was closing in on itself. The description of forms and space of these frontier zones, above all acts as witness to the violence done to the landscape, and to the occupation and the destruction. The challenge was to keep the project going over time, to have the rigour necessary for the working process on the ground, as the landscape, under the grip of a strategy of occupation and confinement was constantly transforming. Following this, the challenge was, for me, to liberate myself from this 'time'.

3. What are your strongest memories of the residency / working period with Al-Ma'mal?

A very particular atmosphere, the emptiness of Jerusalem, the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas in Gaza, the spreading of the news of his death throughout the Old City and then the 3 days of mourning. The unseen violence. Working with Al-Ma’mal and having the feeling that you are at home, the necessity of putting the creation at the centre of your life, as a possible way out. Al-Ma’mal participated in this work over time as I returned twice for the residency - at the end of 2004 and again in 2005 to work on the ground.

4. Did the experience have an impact on your subsequent work?

This experience has been at the heart of my journey in landscapes and frontier spaces because it has meant a ten year in the field engagement. It is situated among other experiences, other spaces, other frontiers, other conflict zones within which I have worked around the world. But this experience has been the “fil rouge” (guiding line).

Anne-Marie Filaire, Paris, August 2010 

Ayreen Anastas - 2004

In 2004 Ayreen Anastas proposed a project that would reflect upon the Italian director Pasolini's visit to Palestine in 1962 for his film "Seeking Locations in Palestine for the Gospel According to St. Matthew". The video project she produced titled, Pasolini Pa* Palestine turned Pasolini's script into a road map superimposed on Palestine's landscape. 

At the time Anastas stated the following about the work:

The video explores questions of repetition and establishes a dialogue with Pasolini. For Heidegger repetition/retrieval are terms for an appropriate attitude toward the past while the term discutere (to smash to pieces) is the Latin source for dialogue / discussion. The video does not criticise Pasolini but rather reveals the possibilities in his thought processes and works back to the 'experiences' which inspired them.' (Ayreen Anastas 2004)

Phil Collins - They Shoot Horses

It all started I suppose with my writing to Jack Persekian. Jack is the director of the Al-Ma’mal Foundation in Jerusalem. But still, I didn’t know whether he’d be interested in my idea to organize, execute and film a disco dance marathon in Ramallah, which would afterwards be exhibited as a real-time video artwork. In fact, I thought he’d hate it. Something so dumb and frivolous which spoke precisely about exhaustion, collapse and heroism but in a palette of Pop Idol colours.

When we think about Palestine it never seems to be in reference to modernity, or culture; in fact, it’s relentlessly positioned as uncivilised. The disco dance marathon would instead be a way of looking at beauty under duress, entertainment in place of routine indignities. Ten days later and I’m standing in a community centre over the road from the local mosque with Iman Hammouri, the director of the Popular Art Centre, holding auditions where I play Beyonce and Joy Division over and over. And the dancers are heart- stoppingly beautiful. They take your breath away - shy and awkward but when they rock, they really flip out.

I choose nine and I filmed two groups over successive days dancing to the same soundtrack, from northern soul to acid house, from Love Hangover to Xanadu, from 10am to 6pm without breaks. Or so I thought. I take the role of cheerleader, DJ, cameraman, bouncer. I’m like a one-man band but with more to do. Have you ever tried to dance for eight hours? It’s a killer. There’s a kind of madness or cabin fever which slowly descends upon a group. It’s insane. In the finished film they do aerobics, they do folk dancing to Gina X. Someone starts dry-retching at Aretha Franklin. They do belly dancing to The Smiths. Later on, they fall asleep to Fame. They’ve almost had it, stumbling about like drunks, bags under their eyes as Irene Cara rattles on in the background. It’s halfway through a Bananarama song in the second hour when we hear the first call to prayer which punctuates the video as we turn the music off and wait until it’s appropriate to put Primal Scream back on.

I’d also not counted on the power cuts. On the second day, the whole of Ramallah goes down. We’re left sitting in a shuttered room with everybody telling me how this is completely normal, and would I like a piece of fruit? Except that I’m getting back on the plane the next day and I know that half the dancers have to get through checkpoints which close at nine. Of course I did have the piece of fruit, and also a silent nervous breakdown. The end of each day had me in tears. The dancers showed such fortitude, resilience, grace and, most importantly, had better, sharper moves than any I’d ever seen. I wanted everyone who saw it to fall in love with them, to admire their perseverance, and to wonder why it should seem odd to us if they knew the words to Althea & Donna’s Uptown Top Ranking. The last track they dance to is quite rightly Olivia Newton John’s Xanadu. For me there really is a heroism to live in a place it’s impossible to leave, to be split from families, imprisoned by a Berlin wall and, maybe worst of all, to be forgotten by a world which refuses to understand you.

Phil Collins (2004)
Text from Artist-in-Residence Archives

Artists-in-Residence-2003

The Tamkeen Workshop grant had run from 2002 - 2004 and covered a total of nine workshops. Owing to changes in USAID itself the grant was no longer available after that period so could not be extended. However. Al-Ma’mal continued to get valuable support from long-time partner, the Ford Foundation and ongoing funding also from the European Commission. A new supporter, the Open Society Institute, also came on board in 2004 enabling the Al-Ma’mal team to continue all of its core activities.

The Artist-in-Residence programme had being running parallel to the workshops and remained very successful throughout this whole period with only one project failing to get off the ground. This was the project of Ayse Erkemen who had proposed to work with Qalqilya Zoo, and particularly with their taxidermied animals. The two things that interested her, were firstly how the ‘freezing’ of life in the zoo had transformed it into a natural history museum and secondly the stories behind each of these animals that were often deeply sad but surreal and funny at the same time.

Brownie the giraffe dying while fleeing from the sounds of a gunfire, falling down and breaking his neck. Ten days later his pregnant partner Rudi having a miscarriage because of sorrow and then Brownie and his unborn giraffe son being stuffed to stand together in a special exhibition space inside the zoo.

Due to incursions and curfews imposed on Qalqilya by the Israeli army at the time of her residency in 2003/04, it was impossible to enter the city so Erkeman could not realize this project. However, the tale of the giraffe emerged along with several other strange news stories relating to Qalqilya Zoo during this period. The Zoo was celebrated in a 2008 book by Amelie Thomas entitled: Zoo on the Road to Nablus: A Story of Survival from the West Bank.

Other artists-in-residence in 2003 included Jananne Al-Ani, Rosalind Nashashibi and Zeyad Dajani whose images of King Hussein's half built and abandoned palace are below.

Artist-in-Residence - Emily Jacir 2002

Emily Jacir’s residency project explored the very personal idea of displacement that so many Palestinians have to live with. Where We Come From/(Im)mobility was a based on the artist’s ‘freedom of movement’ as a Palestinian with an American passport. Jacir utilized her passport to access Palestine for Palestinians who are denied the freedom to go to their own homeland and/or to move freely within it. The starting point of the project was a question addressed to Palestinians living in exile: "If I could do anything for you, anywhere in Palestine, what would it be?"

Jacir asked people to send their requests of what they wanted her to do and with her ‘golden ticket’ (her U.S. passport), she was able to move freely, circumventing barriers and connecting people to their homeland, their wishes, their dreams. In the very act of connecting people to their homeland by fulfilling their requests, the work ascertained and documented their disconnection as well.

The final form her project took was an installation consisting of photos, a DVD projection and text of requests she had been sent, including the following:

"Go to Haifa and play soccer with the first Palestinian boy you see on the street."

"Drink the water in my parents' village."

"Go to Bayt Lahia and bring me a photo of my family, specially of my brother's kids."

"Go to the Israeli post office in Jerusalem and pay my phone bill."

"Go to my mother's grave in Jerusalem on her birthday and place flowers and pray."

"Do something on a normal day in Haifa, something I might do if I was living there now."

Workbook - The Tamkeen Workshops 2002-2004

In 2004 Al-Ma’mal published Workbook as a document of the Tamkeen workshop phase. As with all of Al-Ma'mal's publications, this important record is a work of art in its own right. It incorporates text from Jumana Abboud’s workshop diaries, detailed descriptions of Faten Nastas’s Bethlehem story projects and numerous images from their workshops and those of Luc Chery, Jawad Al-Malhi and Tina Sherwell. Often superimposing text onto the images it also references key movements in contemporary art illustrating clearly how these were incorporated into the workshops and then translated back into clear and unique individual projects.

In Jack Persekian's introduction to Workbook, he not only highlights the practical reasons for the shift of emphasis that occurred with the Tamkeen workshops, but also elaborates on one of the  fundamental premises upon which they were based:

We are constantly bombarded with images and visuals – TV, internet, advertisement, packaging, magazines, presentations etc. Yet we see that our society is not part of that, is not part of the production of these visuals, this information exchange, this means of communication. We are lagging behind with the means, the tools, the know-how and the capabilities to be part of it. We ought to be frightened by the fact that, at this rate, we will always be left behind, never able to catch up with the rest of the developed world: dragging our feet. (Jack Persekian, Workbook, 2004)

What is striking about this statement is the complete absence of any specific situational conditionals especially notable because the Tamkeen workshops coincided with some of the bloodiest events of the second intifada period. The approach taken is one of normality, one that can perceive the future needs of a potential national entity in a global context and as such, can identify skills it will need as a matter of course. The essence of the Tamkeen workshops was to take participants through the whole process of creativity by examining how other artists had worked and how to read and understand the things they had created. This meant formulating and discussing ideas, contextualising them and only then learning the skills that enabled a realisation of their own ideas in the most effective or appropriate way.

This made the workshops comprehensive vehicles for introducing and promoting an awareness of visual literacy as well as providing exposure to practical creative skills. In the process they became an early deposit against Jack Persekian’s fears of a future visual deficit.

Workbook Images

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.

Interview - Jumana Abboud

All of the Tamkeen workshops were specifically directed at young people and were held in partnership with a number of schools, youth clubs and organisations in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. One of the first artists to be engaged for the Tamkeen workshops was Jumana Abboud who taught on site at the Burj Al Laqlaq centre in the Old City, as well as conducting numerous workshops at Al-Ma’mal itself. Her involvement with Al-Ma’mal was to become permanent. After the workshops were completed she remained at the foundation and is today the longest serving member of permanent staff.

1. How did you first get involved with Al-Ma’mal?

I came back to Jerusalem from Canada in 1991. I am originally from the Galilee but wanted to continue art studies at that time and the only possibility for me was to study at the Bezalel Institute in West Jerusalem so I applied for a scholarship. I didn't get it but I stayed and studied there anyway. In 1994 I was walking on Salahuddin Street and it was the afternoon of the opening of Jean Luc Vilmouth's exhibition. I’ll never forget how excited I was to see it. I felt so relieved. After four years of studying at Bezalel, where there was no contact with Palestinian art, here was a very contemporary exhibition related to Palestine happening right on Salahuddin Street. After that I was a regular visitor to Anadiel so that’s how I made the connection.


In 2002 Al-Ma'mal received the Tamkeen workshop grant and it was through this project that I became involved with Al-Ma'mal. Jack invited me and Raeda Sadeh to conduct different workshops at youth centres in the Old City. I taught contemporary art at the Burj al Laqlaq community centre to groups of children aged from 11 – 16. It was mostly painting and drawing. I kept a diary of the workshops and I gave it to Al-Ma'mal as a report of how the workshop was. Sections of it are used in ‘Workbook’ published in 2004 which is an account of Al-Ma’mal activities from 2000 onwards.

2. What were the main challenges in the workshops?

My challenge was to find a way of accessing the students’ imaginations. It was like they had lost the ability to imagine even though some of them were very young. The first thing they would draw would be Al-Aqsa Mosque or a Palestinian flag or a soldier: always something that related not only to reality but specifically to political reality. All their reference points were political and what they drew reflected all the symbols of the conflict and the political context. There were no visions of imagined things. I think this inability to imagine may also partly relate to the local school system as well which is very much focused on rote and passive rather than creative learning.

Also every time you have new group the ice breaking can be the most difficult part and it is also more difficult if they are older. Teenagers especially are resistant to opening up. From teaching workshops I went on to help organise them and one of the things we noticed with all instructors was that the initial workshops were always tough. There was a process through which we had to overcome their defensiveness before they broke down enough to let their imaginations through.

3. How did you deal with these challenges?

It became about practice and making that practice available to the participants. I tried not to be judgemental because then you risk pushing your own visions and not extracting theirs. However, in the end it worked. After a lot of practice I was getting wonderful results and beautiful paintings. I think the most successful were the animal drawings and the paintings influenced by Gustav Klimt. I used images as reference points. I thought of Klimt because he was so colourful so I took the approach of introducing the students to contemporary art through colour.

4. What are your strongest memories of the workshops?
The feedback - what they were all really happy about was the exhibition and the book [Workbook, 2004]. We gave them a group exhibition of their work as did Raeda and others. These always made them feel good. They would bring their family and their friends and they would be so proud. We try up to the present to show a balance of all the participants’ work and it encourages them and makes then want more.

5. How did the staff profile change after the Tamkeen project?

Khadijeh Kanambo had been full time since 1998 and maybe even a little before that. She left in November/December 2009 (hopefully on temporary leave only!). Raeda Sadeh worked in the gallery part-time with Jack before she came to Al-Ma’mal but both Raeda and I started part-time with the workshops in 2002. I then returned as a full-time member of staff in autumn 2003 and Raeda signed up as full time in 2004. She was assistant coordinator of projects but she left in the spring of 2009.

6. How has your work with Al-Ma’mal affected your own art practice/work?

It’s positive that I work in a place that respects me as an artist. It’s a place that encourages my creative development. It’s advantageous to work in an environment that has the same spirit as what I, as an artist, love to do: make art. And it’s a privilege also because at Al-Ma’mal, we focus on making other artist’s projects a success, so I learn to look at the creative process differently and through an administrator’s eye and this help me invent for myself and for my own work a sort of disciplinary formula.