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REMOTE CONNECTION WASLA CONTEMPORARY ART WORKSHOP NUWEIBA, EGYPT 21 MARCH - 4 APRIL, 2003 I — Dahab, has been anxi ous t o i nst i gat e for some t ime. In associ at i on wit h Triangle Art s Trust in t he Unit ed Ki ngdom and wit h addi t i onal suppor t f rom t he Ford Foundat i on, t he art ist -run workshop sought t o bring t oget her a gr oup of mid-career local and f orei gn art ist s t o engage in a di al ogue wit h each ot her and t heir sur r oundi ngs, wit h a const ant I m an Issa, Golden House, w o o d , gIit t er In t he weeks l eading up t o t he US led i nvasi on of Ir aq, t he region was rife wit h debat e as t o t he most ef f ect ive means of voi ci ng opposi t i on t o t he i mpendi ng war and show i ng sol idarit y wit h t he Iraqi people. Wit hin t he cult ural spheres, opi ni ons were mixed as t o t he appropriat eness of adheri ng t o pr evi ousl y est abl i shed agendas; t he idea of cont i nui ng wit h schedul ed event s wi t hout regard t o current circumst ances left a bad t ast e in t he mout hs of many. Bot h Homeworks, t he art f orum in Beirut , and t he Amman Theat er Fest ival schedul ed f or March were consequent l y cancelled . However cert ain element s believed t hat t he best f orm of resist ance can be borne of a det erminat ion t o cont inue, t hat t he cult ural voice of t he region shoul d not die al ong wit h t he Ir aqi s, and t hat , if anyt hi ng, t he signif icance of such event s was great er t han ever. It was agai nst t hi s backdrop, and in spit e of current event s, t hat t he part icipant s of Wasla cont emporary art wor kshop came t oget her. Eight een art ist s f rom Egypt , t he Middle East and f urt her af ield, congr egat ed in t he i sol at i on of t he Si nai desert , bordered by Israel , Jor dan and Saudi Ar abi a- a const ant reminder of t he sensi t i ve posi t i on of t he r egi on. In it s i naugur al year, Wasla (lit erally meani ng connect i on) i s an unprecedent ed i ni t i at i ve i n Egypt and one t hat i ndependent curat or, Mai Abouel f ocus on process rat her t han product . Abouel Dahab and t he t hree or gani si ng ar t i st s- Basi m Magdy, Im an Issa and Mohamed Al Rif f ai- had a part icular mandat e t o select part icipant s whose work engages wit h several medi ums and chal l enges at t empt s at cat egor i zat i on. "Thi s is not about cul t ur al exchange but about exchange bet ween art ist s and art scenes, " st resses Abouel Dahab. It i s wit h t hi s in mind t hat Nuweiba in Si nai was chosen as t he poi nt of connect i on. The st riking mount ai nous desert l andscape i s at once i mposi ng and discreet , pr ovi di ng t he art ist s wit h an abundance of vi sual st i m uli in an envi r onment of severe i sol at i on, equally unf amil iar t o all. Egypt ian art ist s were f orced i nt o...

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