Municipalities and Councils - Australians for Palestine

Exhibitions of the Month
Beyond Aesthetics
The Unspoken Language of Palestinian Dress
22 June to 20 August 2011 at the Birzeit
University Ethnographic and Art Museum
It has been customary for Palestinian
costumes to be shown, exhibited, and
studied in a geographical context,
whereby each garment is associated with
a specific region of Palestine from which
its construction, style, and meanings
are discussed. This exhibition, however,
tries to explore the extent and breadth of
the symbolism found in village-peasant
(falahi) and Bedouin dress as a tool of
communication, protection, and social
interaction. It highlights the use of
colours, imagery, shapes, materials, and
mannerisms as means and methods
of transmitting messages pertinent to
aspects of life in Palestine up to the mid-
20th century. The exhibition elaborates
on the relationship of the costumes and
the amulets as objects worn on the body,
and looks at the largely symbolic nature of
the amulets as complementing the ideas
and beliefs expressed in and through the
costumes.
The exhibition addresses the way
that dress portrays wealth, death and
70
mourning, the body, modesty, marriage,
social status, and spirituality and beliefs
as seen and manifest mainly in women’s
costume. As the majority of the university
costume collection is comprised of
female dresses and accessories, the
communication of these concepts was
also done predominantly through women’s
clothing. Despite the apparent female
exclusivity to this discourse through dress,
everything discussed or portrayed through
female costumes spoke of a woman’s
husband, father, brother, family, or tribe in
an almost identical capacity.
It is worth keeping in mind that the
costumes were created following an
established and traditional procedure,
which in turn gave them their particular
style and look. All the same, the chance
and allowance for creativity and innovation,
within acceptable limitations, gave rise to
the development of styles and change.
This process allowed a certain degree of
fluidity with the maintenance of cultural
and regional identities in the garments.
Through this process as well, certain
messages that had particular pertinence
in earlier stages of development either
became obsolete and were removed, or
were included on the basis of being faithful
to the visual identity of the garment, rather
than the meaning. This means that specific
elements that were once employed to
communicate very specific messages were
simply included on the basis of perceived
tradition and supposed propriety.
By showing the collections in this context,
the museum seeks to herald an alternative
approach and attitude when dealing with
the costumes and amulets, in particular,
and Palestinian history and culture, in
general. The exhibition rejects the ideas
Reflections
Exhibition of Arabic Calligraphy
Ahmad Dari, artist
Yabous Cultural Center
Opening 20 July 2011 at 7:00 p.m. and continuing through 27 July 2011
A Palestinian citizen from Jerusalem,
Ahmad Dari was born in 1964; he did the
first cycle of his primary school studies
in Damascus, a town that has deeply
influenced his attachment to Islamic art.
He left for France in 1985 and spent one
preliminary year studying applied arts in
Lyon before entering the Ecole des Beaux
Arts de Valence.
He continued to study applied arts in
Paris, specialising more particularly in
colours, something that made it possible
for him to reveal his own style, which
has developed consistently since the
beginning of his academic career. His
priority is to create contemporary works
of art that respect the fundamental
principles of Arabic letters and the rich
tradition of Arabic calligraphy.
Dari has worked extensively in the field
of artistic design and has developed
numerous logos and leaflets. He has
also participated in several art exhibitions
and festivals.
71
of nostalgia, sentimentality, and mysticism
that seem too often to overshadow the
discourse when discussing Palestinian
ethnographic items. The aim is to allow the
items to be studied and understood from
as many angles as possible in whichever
context the researcher or spectator sees
interesting and pertinent, such that the
fullest possible potential of those items
becomes possible.
Curator: ’OMARIVS IOSEPH FILIVS
DINÆ
Main sponsor for the exhibition: Bank of
Palestine
Reflections consists of an array of
posters, postcards, and artist stamps.
There will also be an opportunity to meet
with the artist.
As part of the Jerusalem Festival 2011,
Reflections has been organised by
Yabous Cultural Center in collaboration
with Palestinian Art Court – Al Hoash and
Al Ma’mal Foundation for Contemporary
Art.
For more of information, please call 02-
626-1045, or visit www.yabous.org.