Ausstellung und Veranstaltungenein Projekt von Rayelle Niemann und Silvia Staub

Fabriktheater Rote Fabrik, Zürich, Schweiz28 Februar - 14 März 2014

mail@elleray.ch

exhibition curated by Rayelle Niemann. collaborator: Silvia Staub.

Fabriktheater Rote Fabrik, Zurich, Switzerland28 February - 14 March 2014

Grosse Halle Berne, Switzerland6 March - 28 March 2015

maps - tents - videos

content of the project/exhibition

(Three) Four years after the first peaceful protests the Syrian revolution has turned into a spiral of violence. The initial euphoric mood has been replaced by new fronts and an immense humanitarian tragedy.

This exhibition aims to reflect the ongoing war in the light of the European and Swiss asylum policy. ’Cold data’ is juxtaposed with works by Swiss and Syrian artists and pratical approaches.

documentation

The following pages give an overview of the works and their producers.

The documentation ends with a list of all technical details of each work in order to make it easy to conceptualize the project in a different place.

All links in this documentation are active.

BIDAYYAT, audiovisual arts, Lebanon,ist eine unabhängige NGO in Beirut, die seit 2012 syrische Dokumantarfilmer_innen in ihren Arbeiten unterstützt.BIDAYYAT organisiert workshops und vergibt Werkbeiträge.http://www.bidayyat.org/

für diese Ausstellung gibt es 1 DVD mit folgenden Filmen(arabisch, englische Untertitel) ::

MiG, May 2013, Yarmouk, Damascus, Syria, 11’38a collaboration work of the group “reaction” , Yarmouk Camp

Wound, August 2013, Damascus, Syria, 8’32by Wael Kadio

Farewell Damascus, June 2013, Damascus, Syria, 11’23by Azza al Hamwi

A Dream of a Powerful Monster, Shatilla, Beirut, Lebanon,May 2013, 7’41by Lina al Abed

We are coming to slaughter you, June 2013, Beirut, Lebanon, 3’19collaborative work

Dr.Qassem, June 2013, Al Quseir, Homs, Syria, 5’by Amal Salloum

Masasit Matiis a collective consiting of Syrian artists.Sinve 2011 the ypublish the satyrical hand puppet show Episodes of Top Goon - The Little Dictatoron the Internet

http://www.masasitmati.org/

1 DVD with 6 episodesArabic with English subtitles

The interrogator, 8’15

The women in the revolution, 5’28

The border, 6’21

Beeshu’s nightmares, 6’43

Who wants to kill a million?, 6’25

Opposite direction, 7’41

Reforms, 6’25

Devil, 5’20

Actions in public spaces

10 anonymous documentaries on peaceful protest actions in Syrian cities between 2011 and 2012

Initially, when the revolution started, people surprised each other and confronted the authorities with unorthodox and unannounced actions occurring in public spaces.

The public either faced unexpected situations or the actions were performed rather secretively, documented and put on-line, going viral very quickly.

Today, and since quite a while, these kind of happenings are unthinkable.

The actions/interventions took place in Binnish, Damaskus, Dar El Zour, Homs, Kafranbel, Qatana und Rastan.

The 10 documentary videos on the DVD are in Arabic with English Translations.

3 Documentaries

Syria Through a Lens – The Life and Works of Filmmaker Basil Shahada, 67’July 2012

Bassel Shehadeh was a Syrian film maker and producer, well-respected activist, killed on 28th May 2012 during a government assault on a neighbourhood in Homs. Shehadeh played an integral role in organising and documenting the peaceful protests that haves weptSyria since theArabSprings.SyriaThrough ALense is a film that brings together a collection of works by and about Bassel, capturing the beauty of Syria and the inspirational courage of the Syrian people in the face of adversity.

Credits:This film was a collaborative effort to highlight the life and work of Bas-sel Shehadeh. We believe Bassel would have wanted everyone to watch his films and learn about Syria. That is why you are free to screen this film and share Bassel’s message without referring to any of the contributing parties.With thanks to: Grace Holme, Kristina Landry, Lewis Smith, Kristina Donauskyte, Connor Thorogood, Matthew Fuller, SIBE, and ActorVists.

interview with Razzan Ghazzawi, 18’February 2013Razan Ghazzawi, a Syrian blogger and humanrights activist received 2012 the Front Line Human Rights Defender at Risk Award.She talks about the revolution in Syria, the personal toll it has taken and about her colleagues from the Syrian Centre for Media & Freedom of Expression.

all 3 films have English subtitles

interview with Raed Fares, Media Center Karfanbel, Syria, 7’31 November 2013Raed Fares attended the Front Line Defenders Dublin Platform in Oktober 2013. He speaks about the initiative and the people of Kafranbel Media Center, their works and lives.

slidewhow

Messages to the world, Kafranbel 2011 – 2014

Kafranbel is part of the Idlib Governorate in Northwest Syria. Hardly anyone previously knew of the town with its 16’000 inhabitants, although it is Syria’s largest producer of figs and olives. Ever since the revolution started with peaceful protests in Deraa, spreading to other Syrian cities and towns, Kafranbel has been the source of the most progressive messages on the Syrian revolution.

Led by Raed Fares and with the contribution of many activists, the people of Kafranbel tirelessly send their messages of peaceful defiance out to the world. With these banners and caricatures, they developed their own figurative expressive language. In the very beginning, these messages were entirely in Arabic. The drawings received huge international media attention. Fares decided to compose English messages to make them more accessible for an international audience, generating a very particular style with references to Western culture, such as films and music. Beyond that, the messages relate to current situations happening somewhere around the globe. The banners shown here are not in chronological order, nor do they represent the complete range of designs. Nevertheless, they document a timeline and milestones of the Syrian revolution.

http://www.occupiedkafranbel.com/

projector > 155 photos from Kafranbel, no sound, texts in English

Videoart from Syria

Khaled Abdul Wahed, born 1975 in Homs, Syria lives in Istanbul, Turkey

Bullet, 2’02, September 2011, US

Tajj/Boom, 2’15, July 2012, Syria

Slot in memory, 2’25, January 2012, Lebanon

Have a deep breath, 2’31, September 2013, Turkey

http://vimeo.com/user4345882

Akram Al Halabi, born 1981 in Majdal-Shams, Golan Hights, Syria lives in Vienna, Austria

Cheek, 1’31 , Austria 2013

http://akramalhalabi.blogspot.ch/

Dani Abo Louh, born 1983 in Damascus, Syria, lives in Lyon, FranceHis Name was Hamzeh Bakkour, 5’07, France, 2012

http://vimeo.com/daniabolouh

all videos in Arabic with English subtitles

Germann & Lorenzi

Monica Germann and Daniel Lorenzi live and work in Zurich, Switzerland. They collaborate since 1995.They are well known for their site-specific works, installations, wall drawings, as well as art-in architecture projects, drawings and electronic music, shown internationally. They have been given awards and residencies. Apart from being artists themselves, Germann & Lorenzi are wonderful hosts of exhibitionsand musical events, inviting colleagues and friends.

The piece displayed here, Cartography Syria, 2012, has been commissioned for the symposium Syria – here and there, that took place in November 2012, Cabaret Voltaire, Zurich.

http://www.germannlorenzi.com/

Costa Veceborn 1969 in Switzerland

His body of work comprises accessible installations as well as mixed media collages. Since 1999 his works have been exhibited in solo and group shows internationally and he has been given various awards and grants.

The piece displayedRevolution – Patriotismo, model for a refugee camp tent, 2014is a commissioned work for this exhibition and part of the series Revolucion Patriotismo, that Costa Vece started in 2005, tackling migration, homeland and globalization.

In this piece, Costa Vece used T-Shirts, kept together with safety pins. He designed the original national flags of those countries whose residents increasingly ask for asylum in Switzerland in recent years: Syria, China, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Somalia.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Vece

DOMOs

morethanshelters

In 2009, Daniel Kerber, Hamburg, Germany, started to work on the idea of creating a professional structure in order to support as many people as possible without a home. morethanshelters was founded and has been working on prototypes due to ground based analyses.

The demands are high: sustainable, flexible to different cultural needs, adaptable to different climates, possible to be produced with locally found material. Their crowd funding process is successful. Currently morethanshelters is working on the implementation of DOMOs in Za’atari camp, Jordan, where 120 000 Syrian refugees are living.

http://www.morethanshelters.org/

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Schutz und Sicherheit bei jeder Witterung

Temperatur und Feuchtigkeit sind kontrollierbar durch variable Belüftungsformen

Gesundes Raumklima und hohe Hygienestandards garantieren größtmöglichen Wohnkomfort

Perfekte Anpassung an jedes Klima durch variable Isolierung

Klappbares Grundgerüst – platzsparend beim Transport, leicht zu tragen, schnell aufzubauen

Ohne technische oder personelle Hilfe aufzubauen und instand zu halten

Flexibler Boden zur optimalen Anpassung an jeden Untergrund

Außenwände mit lokalen Materialien ebenso wie mit modernsten Stoffen bespannbar

Integration von Solaranlagen möglich

Erweiterbar für größere Familien und Dorfgemeinschaften

Extrem lange Lebensdauer aller eingesetzten Materialien ermöglicht Recycling/ Upcycling

Flexible Strukturen können nach Bedarf angepasst werden (Laden, Weg, Dorfplatz...)

morethanshelters investiert in Folgeversorgung sowie zusätzliche Komponenten der Grund- und Notversorgung vor Ort

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Produktvorteile DOMO

Produktvorteile Hütte

Raumnutzung

Produktvorteile Zelt

mobil, geringes Transportgewicht

Produktnachteile Hütte

Ist-Situation DOMO Modulsystem

Produktnachteile Zelt

wenig witterungsbeständig

Temperatur und Feuchtigkeit kaum kontrollierbar

mangelnde Hygiene

schlechte Isolierung

kein Transport möglich,aufwendiger Aufbau

instabil, nicht witterungsbeständig

schlechtes Raumklima

mangelnde Hygiene

keine Isolierung

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model of a family tent

UNHCR

Shortly after the Second World War, in 1950, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, was founded as an agency of the United Nations, UN, with the mandate to protect and support refugees; either upon request of a government or the UN itself, and to assist the needs of refugees – their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement in a third country. The UNHCR, based in Geneva, Switzerland, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and in 1981.

The Family Tent model displayed was developed in 2008 / 2009 and is a successor of the Tunnel Tent, which is not in use nor included in the UNHCR catalogue anymore. The current family tent is now included in the emergency section of the UNHCR Core non-food Items Catalogue, as well as Items Catalogue of the ICRC/IFRC ; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies/International Committee of the Red Cross.

Since that, the UNHCR/IFRC/ICRC Research and Development Committee continued to modify the current family tent such as a structural frame and winterization kits. Currently, a framed family tent and winterization kits are included in these catalogues. However, more research and development are under process regarding the ventilations, comfort and adequacy.

The UNHCR works with various third party suppliers for the tents and other items, e.g. www.nationaltenthouse.com. Only recently UNHCR started contracting with IKEA for a flat-pack-solution refugee house.

exhibition view / sketches ::

UNHCR-Family tent DOMOs morethanshelters IKEA flat pack solution

Mapping migration and its boundaries

Maps by Nicolas Lampert + Olivier ClochardMigreurop, The Atlas of Migration in EuropeNew Internationalist, Oxford, England

places of detention camps in Europe in 2011

walls, barriers and fences in 2011

body count at the EU’s frontiers, 1993 – 2011

Naming the Dead

List of 17306 documented refugee deaths at the borders of Fortress Europe, Schengen,January 1993 – November 2012

compiled by United for Intercultural Action

European network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants and refugees

www.unitedagainstrasicm.org

drawings of flights

Eritrea - Switzerland, 2013

research, interviews and compiled by Nigist Goytomborn 1988 in Ethopia, architect, libes and works in Zurich, Switzerland

In 2013 more than 45 million people have been forced to leave their homes. This amounts to the biggest number of refugees for 14 years. Poverty, lack of economic opportunities, war and political persecution contribute to their decision to assume the life of a precarious migrant. Their dangerous journeys crossing several borders without legal identity exposes them to reckless human trafficking that often ends up in extortion, slavery, hunger and starvation, but have rarely been documented so far.

Their voices are hardly heard even though a lot is being talked and written about them. This project is a collection of sketches drawn by survivors mostly originating from the Horn of Africa who were willing to recount their experiences.

In the exhibition 8 drawings tell the stories of 8 survivors and their flights.

The stories are written down in a small bocklet, English and German, with references to the drawings.

content of the exhibition II

The contents of the exhibition do not expire. They remain significant and contribute to a complex understanding. Nevertheless, the exhibition can be complemented with additional works.

Texts of the exhibition are available in English and German, with detailed information on each work presented.Events accompanying the exhibition do support scrutinizing topics.

It is desirable to create a new poster according to the event and the space.

documentation II

The exhibition at the Fabriktheater Rote Fabrik, Zurich, was placed in one single room, in a blackbox.

The flexibility of each work makes it possible to conceptualize the exhibition in different spaces.

A detailed technicel raider is to be found on the following page.

The works are easily handled for transportation.

grosse Fluchten – kleines Asyl - huge flights – little sheltera project by Rayelle Niemann und Silvia Staub, Zürich

technical data

DVDs – 6 monitors 1 hanging projector 7 DVD-player 12 headphones – 2 for each (6) monitors

- 1 projector :: slideshow, Kafranbel, without sound, image interval 15’’

- 1 flat screen :: 4 video art works by Khaled Abdulwahed

- 1 flat screen :: 1 video art work by Dani Abo Lou + 1 video art work by Akram Al Halabi

- 1 monitor :: 8 episodes of Top Goon, Masasit Mati

- 1 monitor :: 6 short video documentaries, Bidayyat

- 1 monitor :: documentations of 10 actions / interventions in public spaces

- 1 monitor :: 1 documentary and 2 interviews

All DVDs are in Arabic with English subtitles.All DVDs can either be seen as a loop or each single chapter can be chosen separately with a remote control._________________________________________________________________

- space in place :: list of dead refugees inside Europe, 1993 - 2012 length of paper : 20m 1 end hanging from ceiling, the other end rolled up on a roll, ca. 40/50cm x 20,

- wall for :: cartography Syria, germann&lorenzi, 5m heights x 4m width

- wall for :: 3 x A0 - maps on migration in Europe and walls tarpaulin with metal buckles- wall for :: 7 x A3 - sketches of flights from Eritrea, laser printed photos

- wall for :: 6 x A5 - sketches of models UNHCR family tent + IKEA Flat Pack Solution

- wall for :: 5 x A3 - sketches of models + information on morethanshelters_________________________________________________________

- platform for 4 x A5 notebooks with the narrations of Eritrean sketches, 2 English, 2 German

- platform for 2 x A4 manuals, descriptions and instructions of UNHCR Family Tent ______________________________________________________

- platform for :: UNHCR – Family tent model, ca. 80x50x 30

- platform for :: model for a refugee camp tent, Costa Vece, ca. 50x30x80

- platform for :: models of DOMOS, morethanshelters

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As a supplement to the exhibition and events we created a dossiers to Syria in collaboration with the Rote Fabrik Zeitung,Zurich, published 1 March 2014.

In the last 3 years during the Syrian revolution/war,approximately 140’000 people were killed and millionsbecame refugees, inside the country and abroad.

Following the initial huge media outcry and coverage,bombardments and massacres of civilians turned intomarginal notes in our newspapers.

Razan Ghazzawi, blogger and human rights activist, writes about the role and influence of Syrian women in the revolution.

The renowned theater director and writer Mohammad al Attar discusses possibilities of protest through art.

The American journalist Madeleine Bair interviews Liam Stack,a journalist working for NY Times about his Citizen Video Project «Watching Syria’s War».

Download :

http://www.rotefabrik.ch/_images/admin/zeitung/1394041288_fz_299_web.pdf

grosse Fluchten – kleines Asyl - huge flights – little sheltera project by Rayelle Niemann, Silvia Staub

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contakt

Rayelle NiemannKlingenstrasse 23CH-8005 Zürich

mail@elleray.ch

land 0041 271 80 40mob 0041 79 779 18 94

www.citysharing.ch

grosse Fluchten – kleines Asyl - huge flights – little sheltercurated by Rayelle Niemann. collaborator: Silvia Staub.