DISARMING DESIGN from palestine reportREPORT workshopWORKSHOP International Academy of Arts Palestine, SANDBERG INSTITUUT AMSTERDAM, ICCO, Devet 2 DISARMING DESIGN DISARMING DESIGN International Academy of Arts Palestine, SANDBERG INSTITUUT AMSTERDAM, ICCO, devet report workshop 4 DISARMING DESIGN TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 INTRODUCTION 7 You have to love what you do, and not do what you love 7 a new generation 9 DEVISION LINES 11 gemstones 13 LIVING THE OCCUPATION 15 FAIRY LIKE INDUSTRIES 21 safer then ever 23 THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY 24 old news from palestine 25 BACK AND FORTH 29 final presentation prototypes 34 security madam, security 35 processing 35 Palestinian-Dutch “Disarming Design” project inspired by artwork in captivity 39 credits 39 BACKGROUND 5 FROM PALESTINE TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 INTRODUCTION 7 You have to love what you do, and not do what you love 7 a new generation 9 DEVISION LINES 11 gemstones 13 LIVING THE OCCUPATION 15 FAIRY LIKE INDUSTRIES 21 safer then ever 23 THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY 24 old news from palestine 25 BACK AND FORTH 29 final presentation prototypes 34 security madam, security 35 processing 35 Palestinian-Dutch “Disarming Design” project inspired by artwork in captivity 39 credits 39 BACKGROUND 6 DISARMING DESIGN 7 FROM PALESTINE INTRODUCTION The project ‘Disarming design’ develops a collection of useful objects that reflect upon the Palestinian reality. Artists and designers are therefore invited to collaborate with local craftsmen to make contemporary products out of existing production processes. The products will be represented and distributed by the new design-label ‘Disarming Design’, through a mobile design store and a web shop. The project is set up by ICCO, the International Academy of Arts Pales- tine, Khaled Hourani and myself. It is generously supported by ICCO and UNESCO. September 2012 a workshop has been organized by the International Acad- emy of Arts Palestine and the Sandberg Instituut Amsterdam. Approxi- mately 25 Palestinian designers, artists, students and three Design master students from Amsterdam worked in Ramallah to develop prototypes for the new collection of products. It resulted in two vibrant, unpredictable and very fruitfull weeks. With this booklet we’d like to tell you about the project and share our experiences and impressions of those days. Annelys de Vet 8 DISARMING DESIGN [AdV] Mahmoud Almasri, owner of “Masri Shoes” in his shop. 9 FROM PALESTINE You have to love what you do, * and not do what you love Qalandiya Interna- SUNDAY 2nd SEPTEMBER tional (QI) is a biennial event that takes place The passport control employee at the Ben Gurion (IL) airport asks us across Palestinian cities, towns, and vil- where we’re planning to go. The answer ‘Ramallah’ causes us a long delay lages. It focuses on with questions and baggage checks. The Palestinian taxi-driver is patient, exhibiting contem- waits two hours for us and finally brings us to Ramallah where we receive porary Palestinian and international art, a very warm welcome. highlighting valuable architectural sites, and Artist and great host Majd Abdel Hamid is doing the research and pro- includes talks, walks and performances. duction of the project, and today he shows us around. Together with the QI, in its first take, Sandberg master students Hannes Bernard, Martina Petrelli and Donna is a collaboration Verheijden we walk pass a remarkable shoe-shop and stop when Hannes between the Jerusalem Show and the Riwaq gets excited about the typography of the facade. Biennale, as well as Masri – which means ‘Egyptian’ in Arab – is a shoe shop that hasn’t other Palestinian changed since it was established in the sixties. The owner speaks Arab, cultural institutions, in an attempt to pool English, Spanish and French and used to have a shoe factory with at least resources and work 25 employees. But he can’t find people anymore who love to make shoes. collectively towards As a comment to his next generation he states: “But you have to love what showcasing and pro- moting contemporary you do, and not do what you love.” culture in Palestine, locally and internation- ally. It is an attempt to engage the local public in programs that are a new generation not straitjacketed by rd realpolitik, and to al- MONDAY 3 SEPTEMBER low them to look at art in a more imaginative All the participants of the workshop gather at the international Acade- and open manner. It my of Arts. There are bachelor students from the art school, as well as is an attempt to join forces and resources many professional artists and designers. The director Khaled Hourani, and form links across a artist Majd Abdel Hamid and myself give a presentation about the aims of fragmented geography; the project. We explain how we want to develop products in collaboration a take on unity. The QI program with different craftsmen. We want to use as much existing production encompasses a processes and Palestinian resources as possible to develop new (or slightly diversity of newly com- adjusted) objects. We underline that each product should somehow reflect missioned projects and presentations as vari- upon the current situation so that each design will tell a story. We also ous as the institutions challenge the participants to come up with alternative titles for the project, involved, it is inclusive since there are different opinions about the impact of the current one. rather than exclusive, interdisciplinary, The aim of the workshop is to develop several prototypes that will be and open allowing exhibited in November during the Qalandia International Art Biennial*. engagement, and even After this we will research which products can be taken into production to implication. 10 DISARMING DESIGN [AdV] Prototype for a plate with daily moments of Palestinian life, at Hebron Glass & Ceramics Factory. This one is based on a photo by Hosni Radwan with a falafel maker. 11 FROM PALESTINE sell the coming years through a mobile design store and an on-line shop. Khaled stresses that even though the project has a focus on crafts, local manufactors and businesses, the essence of this experience is artistic, in- novative and creative. It aims to evoke new ideas and designs, which will strengthen the relationships between artists, craftsmen and businesses, introducing a new generation in the world of Palestinian artistic culture. DEVISION LINES TUESDAY 4th SEPTEMBER Driving from Ramallah to Hebron would normally take one hour, but since Palestinians in the West Bank are not allowed to drive through Jeru- salem we have to make a long detour which takes at least two hours. When we arrive at the Hebron Glass & Ceramics Factory we are invited to work with the craftsmen. We blow our own glass experiments, develop designs for cups and plates, including one with drawings of everyday mo- ments. Brainstorming possibilities for a keffiyeh. We follow our tour to the Hirbawi Textile Factory, the only factory in Palestine making keffiyehs – the iconic patterned scarf. Although the factory was closed a few years ago, due to the competitive cheap Chinese low quality copies that dominated the market – now the production is rising again and they make around 100 scarves a day. [AdV Compared to the 600 they were making on a daily base it’s not so much, but at least the factory with its employees is doing reasonable Closed shops in Hebron. business. In the afternoon we visit the old city of Hebron. We walk through what used to be a very lively souk. The centre once had around 23 000 [AdV] Arab inhabitants, but since the early eighties Israeli settlers have (ille- gally) moved in. Currently there are 400 settlers living here who are ‘protected’ by approximately 2 000 Israeli soldiers. We see several of these soldiers walking around hold- Khaled Fakhori from the Oriental Handmade Pottery Factory Weaver Abid Keraki next to the machines that are specially made for keffiyehs, demonstrates how to make vases. [AdV] and can only be used for this process. [AdV] DISARMING DESIGN 12 13 FROM PALESTINE ing huge firearms in front of them. Today no more than 3 000 Arabs have managed to stay living in their houses, unprotected by any authority. The majority of the shops are closed because it has been made impossible for the owners to maintain their businesses. The Palestinian police are not allowed to enter the old city, if they try they are arrested and put into jail by the Israeli military authori- ties. Many of the streets in the old city are covered with wired textiles, in order to protect the people from stones thrown down from above by fanatic settlers. In the old city we pass an humiliating checkpoint to visit two Palestin- ian potteries that are still located on the road that has become a division line. Officially citizens of the West Bank are not allowed to visit them, unless the Palestinian owner can tell the soldier at the checkpoint that he knows the visitors. We can cross the division to receive a very warm welcome in the Oriental Handmade Pottery Factory. The owner Khaled Fakhori shows us how he makes vases and allows the participants to try their hand – which is of course more complicated then expected. We also discuss Maher Shaheen’s idea to develop ceramics with – possibly annoy- ing – division lines in it. These ceramics would reflect the situation in Hebron by being divided in two sections – for instance a coffee cup with a little wall inside. Khaled is exited about the idea and will experiment with it the coming days. gemstones WEDNESDAY 5th SEPTEMBER In the morning the Sandberg students give small presentations with as- signments to the bachelor students of the Academy.