JAVA Mar-2019

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Venice Biennale in 2013. This inclusion to the prestigious international exhibition would prove a catalyst for the young artist’s life and career. Gordon Knox, the director of the ASU Art Museum at the time, saw his work and invited Al Shaker to participate in the International Artist Residency Program at Combine Studios in downtown Phoenix. Al Shaker arrived in the U.S. speaking no English. Gradually, he is becoming more and more comfortable with the language. “When I came here, I started from zero. I don’t have a language. I speak ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ and I speak ‘hello’ and from one to ten. The ASU Art Museum, they give me someone with me always. Her name is Layal Rabat. She’s from Syria, and she’s one of my best friends. She translated everything. She introduced me to all the people I know now.” Although Al Shaker was thankful for the assistance from the ASU Art Museum, his lack of mastery over the English language made him feel isolated early on. He endured an existential crisis when he stayed inside his home for ten days straight to really examine his decision to relocate halfway around the world and to ask if this would ultimately be beneficial to his art. “You know, when you come from all big festivals,” Al Shaker said, “all the media come to you, all the 14 JAVA MAGAZINE things. When you come here and then you feel alone, it’s just very hard, you know. You feel alone because the language. I decided, maybe I will go to [another] country in the Middle East because I can’t go back to Iraq, or maybe I will stay here and start from zero. So I stayed here. I went outside, talked with the people. Just read one sentence or read a question and at home repeat it like ten times. Then go outside and just ask the people. So I hear them – what they talk about. From there I changed my life.” Al Shaker has had to be truly resourceful, moving from one space to the next in order to continue making art. After a productive stint in the residency program at ASU, he committed to staying in the U.S. and moved to Grant Street Studios. He was able to have a show and paint at 720 Gallery briefly, but had several of his works stolen during a break-in. He worked at a studio in Bentley Projects and had a special exhibition of portrait works depicting his biggest supporters. He opened Babylon Gallery on Roosevelt Row and found some stability to practice his craft as he continued to teach art around the Valley. His next venture took him to another artist residency, this time at Broadstone Arts District, a luxury apartment complex inspired by the arts. Al Shaker was brought in to do a four-month residency. After the complex sold to a different company – it’s now called the Green Leaf Arts District – the new owners decided to extend his residency indefinitely, and Al Shaker vowed to create a quality arts experience for his adopted city. He now paints in the complex and teaches art classes for tenants, as well as the general public. Although Al Shaker’s work area was originally more of a lounge than an actual art space, he envisioned a viable space where artists could show their work and be appreciated by art lovers. “My dream here is in Phoenix,” he said. “Baghdad is still my first love. But Phoenix is my second city, because when I walk in the street, I say ‘hi’ to everyone and they say ‘hi’ to me. When I go anywhere, I feel like I’m born here, so this is why it’s really amazing. And people here are lovely. I try to do something for the city, because we have very good artists, we have the space, and we just need to put up high-level art. We need more galleries.” Al Shaker puts his words into practice. After months of preparation overhauling the space and selecting art, he recently opened a group show in the newly minted Green Leaf Gallery, with some notable Phoenix artists. It was a rousing success.
TOP CHEFS 41 R E STAU RA N TS DESTINATION SCOTTSDALE CULINARY FESTIVAL APRIL 13-14 2019 3 STAGES LIVE MUSIC ALL WEEKEND FEATURING BERLIN W/TERRI NUNN Al Shaker will be having a solo exhibition of his most recent work in April. It has great emotional value to him in light of his beloved uncle passing away in a car accident. The experience has resulted in the artist experimenting with cutting and laying canvas on the floor. “I am doing this show for my uncle who died ten months ago,” Al Shaker said. “He’s really in my soul. When he died, I feel everything is broken in my life because I used to paint because of him.” Throughout all this, Al Shaker has been working diligently on an even more ambitious project. Consisting of large-scale paintings featuring musicians, the work comments on the dangers of religious intolerance. “I’m doing a series. It’s eight paintings, all of them [featuring] musicians. It’s not about the technique – it’s just about the idea behind it. I’m talking about all religion in the world. About how some people, they use religion to do whatever they want. It’s about what’s going on in the world now. These paintings, I’ve been sketching and reading about it more than seven years.” When asked if he practices a specific religion, Al-Shaker plainly states: “I’m an artist.” “I need to focus on my art,” Al Shaker said. “We didn’t come to this life to just fight. We didn’t come to this life to just, ‘Oh, I am Muslim, oh, you are Jewish, and, oh, you are Christian.’ No, we came to do something in this life. This life is very quick. We came to do something before we leave.” Scottsdale Civic Center Mall SAT APRIL 13 NOON - 9 PM SUN APRIL 14 NOON - 6 PM A WORLD OF FOOD, MUSIC & FUN FOUR PEAKS BEER GARDEN • TITO’S HANDMADE VODKA LOUNGE LIQUID ARIZONA presented by PHOENIX Magazine 3 STAGES LIVE MUSIC including BERLIN featuring Terri Nunn VIP EXPERIENCE • CHOCOLATE & WINE • CULINARY DEMOS FAMILY FUN ZONE • more! TITLE SPONSOR ScottsdaleFest.org / tickets Green Leaf Gallery 222 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix The Winter Show Through March 29th Bassim Al Shaker Solo Show Opening Reception: April 5, 6 – 11 p.m. @bassimalshaker www.bassim-alshaker.com SCOTTSDALE LEAGUE FOR THE ARTS, a 501(c)(3) supporting local arts programs since 1978, donates 100% of net proceeds to the arts. $4.5 million donated since 2000. Proud presenters of Arizona’s Tastiest Fundraisers: Burger Battle – March 22, 2019 Cocktail Society – April 12, 2019 Scottsdale Culinary Festival – April 13-14, 2019
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Page 29 and 30: Photographers: Karl Millings Sara K
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