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Blacktown Arts Centre

Arts,culture, education

Work

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Skills and Interests

Animation, Design, Film & Video, Interactive Media, Music & Audio, Visual Arts & Photography,

Location

Blacktown Art Centre, 78 Flushcombe Rd, Blacktown

Occupation

Arts,culture, education

A bit about me…

Blacktown Art Centre operates on two key principles - the pursuit of artistic excellence and the empowerment of the community. Since opening its doors in October 2002, Blacktown Arts Centre has rapidly grown into becoming one of the major cultural institutions in Western Sydney . Exceeding all expectations the Centre has quickly built a reputation for delivering artistic programs of excellence and for its commitment to community engagement and development.

Currently working on…

Tales of Colour , Arab artists reflect on their lives and the state of their homelands

People also know me as…

Six Arabic Australian artists from war torn Iraq, the Levant and North Africa explore the connections between ancient and contemporary traditions and arts practices, consider the space between the individual and conflict, probe the distance between people and difference and dip into the emotive personal response of the imagination.

The exhibition Tales of Colour will open on Friday 4th July. Developed in a partnership between Blacktown Arts Centre and the University of Western Sydney (UWS), the exhibition showcases the work of professional Arabic Australian artists. The exhibition is curated by Jamal Joumaa as part of his doctorate studies at UWS.

UWS Lecturer, Dr. Ronaldo Morelos says, ‘Tales of Colour offers a refreshing alternative to the current political and cultural dialogue on conflict and difference in our contemporary global environment. The exhibition and public programs are an intervention in the way Arabs are understood and ‘othered’ via the media.’

Lebanese born Khaled Sabsabi’s multimedia installation interrogates the impact of the media spectacle on conflict. He explores the relationship of the individual to that spectacle via an installation on Israel’s bombing of Lebanon in 2006.

Abstract painter Mazin Ahmad explores the intricacies of human existence and its anchoring in history and land. While Mazin uses the symbology of Iraqi artistic traditions to convey meaning, he also draws upon Australian colours to imbue his work with the contemporary experience of cultural diversity.

Moroccan born artist, Fatima Killeen’s work embodies her search for peace among cultural identities, difference and lived experience. Her work, ‘Please stop the madness’, a colour callograph of a tree ponders the environmental destruction of Iraq and the impact of the US military on the country in imprisoning not only the people , but the also the trees.

Other artists featured in the exhibition include Ali Abbas and Faisal Al Saadi, both from Iraq and Jamal Joumaa from Lebanon.

Blacktown is the second largest LGA in Australia and is home to over 100 cultures. It is an area where ground-breaking collaborations between the arts and community have engaged in distinctive ways with the concept of ‘art.’

Tales of Colour runs from 4th July - 30 august 2008 at Blacktown Arts Centre, 78 Flushcombe Rd, Blacktown. A public program featuring artist talks, workshops and a seminar will accompany the exhibition with details sent at a later date.

For further information, artists’ bios, media package and contacts please contact: Nadyat El Gawley 0431 446141

Personal website

[ www.artscentre.blacktown.nsw.gov.au ]