Alwan338//Foundations

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Alwan338//Foundations

Al Riwaq Art Space and all around Block 338
Adliya, Bahrain

March 3–April 19, 2014

Alwan338 is a large, annual public arts festival in Bahrain. It took place in 2012 and 2013 and I curated the 2014 edition, entitled Alwan338//Foundations. It ran for six weeks and was focused in the neighborhood of Adliya, specifically Block 338. It featured work by 28 visual artists and extensive public programming:

The format of the festival’s 2014 edition is inspired by the fact that Adliya once bordered the sea before land-reclamation extended the natural boarders of the island in the 20th century, a practice that has heavily exhilarated in the 21st century.

Alwan338//Foundations addresses the theme of “foundations” in their definition as “grounds on which other structures rest,” thus embodying the tension between inherited conditions and projected constructions, where the present is a blind-spot.

Alwan338//Foundations features newly-commissioned, site-specific artworks that are conceived by 13 international resident artists and 14 Bahrain-based artists. The festival also includes artist talks and workshops conducted by the resident artists, a solo exhibition, research projects, live music, film screenings, and an extensive visual identity and summarising publication.

Resident artists
Caroline Palla, Chris Lawrence, Daniel Rode, EPS51 (Ben Wittner, Sascha Thoma), Eva Frapiccini, Ganzeer, Khalid Albaih aka Khartoon!, Nile Sunset Annex (Taha Belal, Jenifer Evans, Hady Kamar), Rachel Gadsden, Rheim Alkadhi

Bahrain-based artists
Aigerim Aikenova, Ali Mussain Mirza, Brad Niemann, Hanadi Al-Ghanem, Jaffar Al Oraibi, Jenine Sharabi, Maoon Rashed, Mohamed Sharkawy, Mohsin Mubarak, Muna Yateem, Ryan Andrews, Tamara Al Pachachi, Waheeda Malullah, Yasmin Sharabi

Solo exhibition
Hassan Hajjaj

Visual identity & publication
EPS51

Designer of outdoor area for food, music, screenings
May Yateem

Research projects
Failed Architecture (Architecture), meetings with Robert Kluijver (Contemporary art in the Gulf), Shakshooka (The cultural heritage of regional cuisines, based in Kuwait)

Live music
Zenda Marie, Al Harith & Brothers Band, DJette Kiwi, The Relocators, DJ Hisham T, Ali & Lujain, Majaz

Screenings
Six hour-long episodes from the acclaimed PBS series Art in the 21st Century: Balance, Boundaries, Change, History, Place, Stories

Curatorial assistance
Basma Al-Khayer, Luay Al-Derazi, Zain Al Khalifa

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Ganzeer “Foundations” mural
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Ganzeer “Foundations” mural
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Daniel Rode “I Love Fast Cars” banner 800 x 250 cm
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Daniel Rode “I Love Fast Cars” banner 800 x 250 cm
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Installation by Ali Mussain Mirza
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Installation by Muna Yateem
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Eva Frapiccini, “The Dreams’ Time Capsule,” an ongoing research and participatory project, photo by the artist
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Eva Frapiccini, “The Dreams’ Time Capsule,” an ongoing research and participatory project
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Eva Frapiccini, “The Dreams’ Time Capsule,” an ongoing research and participatory project
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Ryan Andrews’ “Ghosts of iPhones Past” (more here) 
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The Glowing Abeya, a performance and research project by Aigerim Aikenova and Maoon Rashed
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The Glowing Abeya, a performance and research project by Aigerim Aikenova and Maoon Rashed
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Chris Lawrence “Signals”
Embroidered polyester, metallic thread. (nineteen flags, installed in six locations in Adliya, Bahrain), photo by the artist
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Chris Lawrence “Signals”
Embroidered polyester, metallic thread. (nineteen flags, installed in six locations in Adliya, Bahrain), photo by the artist
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One of a series of works installed throughout the neighborhood, by Jaffar Al Oraibi
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One of a series of works installed throughout the neighborhood, by Jaffar Al Oraibi
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A photography series and installation by Waheeda Malullah
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A site-specific mural by Mohamed Sharkawy
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Caroline Palla “Majlis/The Sitting Room”
Coral stone, concrete, oud and rose essential oils, green and yellow light, photo by the artist
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Caroline Palla’s “Majlis/The Sitting Room”
Coral stone, concrete, oud and rose essential oils, green and yellow light (view from Sheikh Isa Avenue), photo by the artist
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Poster series by Nile Sunset Annex
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Poster series by Nile Sunset Annex

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Media:
Interview with Nile Sunset Annex by Zain Al Khalifa
Interview with Chris Lawrence by Zain Al Khalifa
Interview with Caroline Palla by Zain Al Khalifa
Interview with Ganzeer by Zain Al Khalifa
Interview with Daniel Rode by Zain Al Khalifa
Interview with Eva Frapiccini by Zain Al Khalifa
A unique way to interpret dreams by Agnieszka Piechoska for DT News Bahrain, about Eva Frapiccini’s project Dreams’ Time Capsule