La Dolce London
with Beniamono Barrese, Alessandra Catavero and Oscar Tornincasa
9th and 10th of March 2013, Telegraph Hill Festival 2013
Saturday 6pm | Aperitivo Italiano
The Wishing Thread
with Manali Jagtap
25th March 2012, Telegraph Hill Festival 2012
This is an activity for children that adapts the Hindu festival of Vat-Pournima (where women in India tie threads around the Banyan tree while wishing for long life for their loved ones) to Telegraph Hill Park. Each child will be asked to write down his/her wish for a loved one, choose a coloured thread from bright coloured balls of spun wool, and then spin the thread around selected tree(s) while thinking about the wish. The visual created is one of colourful threads spun around trees – with wishes attached for people to read. For children who participate, the activity raises cultural awareness and brings the connection between our hopes and the environment to life. For adults, it is a reminder of the hopes and love that all children feel for their families and friends.
--> with Beniamono Barrese, Alessandra Catavero and Oscar Tornincasa
9th and 10th of March 2013, Telegraph Hill Festival 2013
Saturday 6pm | Aperitivo Italiano
photos by Oscar Tornincasa
The Wishing Thread
with Manali Jagtap
25th March 2012, Telegraph Hill Festival 2012
This is an activity for children that adapts the Hindu festival of Vat-Pournima (where women in India tie threads around the Banyan tree while wishing for long life for their loved ones) to Telegraph Hill Park. Each child will be asked to write down his/her wish for a loved one, choose a coloured thread from bright coloured balls of spun wool, and then spin the thread around selected tree(s) while thinking about the wish. The visual created is one of colourful threads spun around trees – with wishes attached for people to read. For children who participate, the activity raises cultural awareness and brings the connection between our hopes and the environment to life. For adults, it is a reminder of the hopes and love that all children feel for their families and friends.
CeramiX by CTRLZAK
www.ctrlzak.com
presented Saturday 12 Nobember 2011
CeramiX is a series of ceramic objects reflecting on the historical production of Chinese and European porcelain and its’ centuries of cross-fertilisation between Western and Eastern aesthetics. China has a long tradition in the production of ceramics and especially porcelain and Europe has for many centuries tried to copy the Chinese in that field. Nowadays our world is invaded by Chinese products that in most cases attempt to imitate those European.CeramiX is a reflection upon the irony of history through the world of ceramics. After an initial research in the traditional techniques, methods and evolution of both Chinese and European ceramics, the CTRLZAK team has identified certain key elements that distinguish both cultures. Subsequently the project was divided in two phases: The first involved the acquisition of original pieces of both origins that represented these clue elements documented during the research, then the objects where sliced in half and recomposed bringing together East and West in new unique pieces; the results of this phase constitute the Art Collection of the project. The second phase was inspired by the experience and the forms of the first creating a brand new collection of plates, bowls and cups in glazed ceramic which constitute the Design Collection of the project.
CeramiX Art Collection consists of 24 original pieces derived from classical Chinese and European plates, bowls, vases and cups, reassembled as unusual remixes. These objects where sought for in antique stores and flee markets and some of them even came from personal family collections. The pairing process of the two heterogeneous halves was by no means arbitrary; each piece has a visual narrative which is created through a careful selection of the two parts in such a way that they complement each other enriching the end result.
CeramiX Design Collection comprises a plate, a bowl and a cup in white glazed ceramic designed by CTRLZAK. This collection underlines some of the formal characteristics identified during the initial research and applies them within the design process. The result is a series of tableware which employs contemporary forms to symbolise a complex past. The collection can easily stand independently having a character of its’ own, even though it makes clear references to the objects of the Art Collection and the whole of the CeramiX process.
Bait al Karama
www.baitalkarama.wordpress.com
presented Saturday 22 January 2011
Beit al Karama is the first self-initiated international cooking school of Palestinian food run exclusively by women and a women centre aiming at enhancing the cultural activities in the very struggled heart of the Old City of Nablus.
The Palestinian city of Nablus is located in the northern West Bank, approximately 63 kilometres (39 mi) north of Jerusalem, and has a population of 134,000. Once the economical driving force of Palestine, Nablus has been a central flashpoint of violence between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Palestinian militant groups. The level of violence dramatically increased from 2000, at the start of the Second Intifada. During this period, the Old City of Nablus became the scene of heavy fighting and intense IDF shelling, and a number of historic buildings from the 1st to 15th century were severely damaged. Unemployment in the Old City and in the refugee camps is estimated to be as high as 80%. Due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Nablus has been closed off until 2009. The city's encirclement with Israeli checkpoints is cited by the United Nations as a reason for high unemployment and a 'devastated' economy.
Beit al KARAMA developed from a close dialogue between the Old City Service Committee and the artists Rachela Abbate and Beatrice Catanzaro during the artists' three months stay in the Old City of Nablus, from September to November 2010.
The project's vision is the establishment of a social-cultural centre run by women and managed according to a social enterprise business model, where food-related activities is the vehicle to develop regular income for the women involved as well as the mean to sustain a social and cultural programme. Beit al karama will draw international attention to the Old City of Nablus as a place of Art and Culture, by initiating a number of cultural and artistic initiatives involving the local and wider Palestinian cultural scene as well as international guests and to encourage sustainable tourism.Trip to Iraq
www.triptoiraq.wordpress.com
presented Sunday 7th November 2010
Beth Shiner & Jason Waite
Two recent Goldsmiths graduates are spending 9 days travelling in Iraq to meet artists, art students and build lasting ties to help assess the potential for future collaboration. The trip will be in the north of Iraq, and problematize engaging in a site of conflict and the role of arts practicioners in this environment. The project will produce a blog and presentations on Iraqi contemporary culture will be given upon returning, in order to provide an alternative perspective to an area of Iraqi society that has very little visibility in the Western media.
http://triptoiraq.wordpress.com/
http://triptoiraq.wordpress.com/
