The Arab Bureau – mit Al Fadhil

Täglich vom 26. Juli bis 8. August, jeweils von 10 – 18 Uhr am C* / Arabic calligraphy as creative therapy / Readings of poetry and prose in Arabic / Video screenings of relevant works / Oriental food and drinks / Baghdad café.

The Arab Bureau was a section of the Cairo Intelligence Department during the First World War. According to a »Committee of Imperial Defence paper«, it was established in Cairo to ‘harmonise British political activity in the Near East.’ T. E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, was the person used to put this policy into action. This process of harmonisation, according to colonial strategy, through the use of deceitful practices and the making of empty promises, was to subdue the Arab Nation. Now, a century later, the Arab Bureau is no longer an Intelligence agency, but a workshop of creativity, where thoughts and ideas are worked out and transmitted through artistic and humanistic practice. For this reason the support and involvement of the public interacting with the artist is fundamental. The various activities of the Arab Bureau would amount to a democratic platform, opening to discuss the political, economic and social themes that the colonial system has left as a weighty legacy to the contemporary world.

The Arab Bureau

…is divided into the following sections: Arabic calligraphy as creative therapy / Readings of poetry and prose in Arabic / Video screenings of relevant works / Oriental food and drinks / Baghdad café.

Baghdad café

A painted map of the world on canvas, cut into 12 equal parts, one fragment offered to several international delegations. Each was asked to embroider one or more words in their language. After a year, the pieces were reassembled and sewn together, bearing words in Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, English, Italian, Tibetan and Urdu. Through the audience participation at following exhibitions, the public has become co-owner of the artwork.

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