Azad-Hye, Dubai
April 8 2005

Jack Persekian: Head curator of the Sharjah Biennial 7

“One of my main concerns in life has been the issue of identity, of
the notion of who I am, where I belong and where I want to be”.

Sharjah Biennial 7 is the only international contemporary art event
of its kind in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Entry is free, and the
event has been designed to involve students as well as the rest of
the community. In 1993, Sharjah (the third Emirate in economic
significance in the UAE) hosted the first Biennial and since then has
hosted 6 sessions over 12 years.

Jyoti Kalsi has contributed the following article to the “Gulf News”
Dubai daily (“Surrounded by Art”, 6th April 2005, tabloid
supplementary cover story), including an interview with Jack
Persekian:

The Sharjah Biennial 7 will showcase paintings, videos and art
installations from the region and the world More than 70 artists from
36 countries will take part in the Sharjah Biennial 7 which opens
today.

They will present their interpretation of the event’s theme of
Belonging through paintings, sculptures, videos, photographs and
installations, many of which have been commissioned for the event
which continues until June 6.

For the first time since its inception in 1993 – the event is being
hosted at two venues, the Sharjah Art Museum and the Sharjah Expo
Centre.

Also for the first time, a contemporary art education programme has
been designed to actively involve students and the local community in
the event.

This includes an international symposium on biennials, discussions on
the theme of belonging and a variety of student workshops. Entry is
free and trained guides are available at the venue for free guided
tours.

Sharjah Biennial 7 – the only international contemporary art event of
its kind in the GCC – was conceptualised and organised by head
curator Jack Persekian.

Born and brought up in Jerusalem, Persekian is the founder and
director of Anadiel Gallery and the Al Ma’mal Foundation of
Contemporary Art in Jerusalem. He played a key role in establishing
and developing the contemporary art movement in Palestine and in
putting Palestinian and contemporary Arab art in the international
limelight.

He is an adviser to the Palestinian Ministry of Culture and has been
a curator for several prestigious exhibitions around the world.

A week ago, I met him in his office at the Sharjah Art Museum. The
place was bustling with activity as artists and artworks began
arriving from various parts of the world. In between supervising the
special construction work being done at the Sharjah Expo for certain
installations and ensuring that the artworks were displayed just as
the artists wanted them, Persekian took some time off to talk to
Tabloid about the significance of the theme and what the event hopes
to achieve:

Excerpts:

Tabloid: What was your vision of the theme?
Jack Persekian: I was honoured when HH Hoor Al Qasimi, director of
the Sharjah Biennial 7, appointed me the head curator for this event.
We discussed many ideas before settling on the theme of belonging.

I am of Armenian origin, born in Palestine and an American citizen
living in Jerusalem. One of my main concerns in life has been the
issue of identity, of the notion of who I am, where I belong and
where I want to be. When I came to Sharjah I realised that this theme
is quite relevant to this environment. There are more expatriates
than UAE nationals in this country and there is a great mixture of
different people passing through this country who make it their
temporary home.

To some extent this reflects the state of the whole world today. We
are living more and more in transient places. We travel more and
spend more and more time at airports and between spaces and places.

Yet on the other hand, there is so much conflict connected to
identity, territory and occupation.

So at one extreme you have a struggle over belonging and identity and
on the other you have the possibility that anyone can buy a home on
the Palm Island [a huge real estate project off shore Dubai in the
shape of a palm tree, which has become the symbol of recent
construction development in Dubai – Azad-hye]

Hence the word belonging is loaded with meaning. I thought I would
like to see how artists react to it – be it in a banal sense, as a
complex challenging notion or just with cynicism.

Tabloid: What do you hope to achieve through this event?
Jack Persekian: Biennials are an important platform to hear what
contemporary artists have to say. For artists it is a place where
they can interact with each other, exchange ideas and crystallise
their dreams and thoughts.

For us the event works on many levels. It opens doors to the outside
world, putting Sharjah and the UAE on the international art scene.

It provides a platform for artists from around the globe to come and
work here, be inspired by the region, relate to it and then become
ambassadors of this place. It is also a great opportunity for local
artists and art students to interact with and learn from some of the
most talented and experienced contemporary artists. One of our chief
goals is to engage the local community with this event.

Tabloid: How do you plan to do that?
Jack Persekian: With the support of the Ministry of Education, we
will have students from UAE schools coming here every day for guided
tours followed by discussions and painting sessions in the creativity
room.

The Sharjah University College of Fine Arts has taken a week off so
that the students can work with the visiting artists, helping them
with the installation of their works and in the process gaining
invaluable insights into art. We will also hold workshops by various
artists at the College of Fine Arts and American University of
Sharjah.

We have also planned interesting talks and seminars and an
artists-in-residence programme, where two artists will live and work
here for the duration of the Biennial and all art lovers are invited
to join them in creating interesting artworks.

We also have a reading room, where visitors can find a wonderful
selection of books on art and philosophy. The books and the seminars
will be in English and Arabic.

Tabloid: How did you select the artists?
Jack Persekian: My two associate curators and I looked for artists
who in the past have explored notions of identity, homeland, mobility
and displacement. Biennials are about contemporary works, so all the
exhibits are recent works by the artists. We also commissioned some
site-specific works for the event.

My expertise is in artists from this region, so Arab artists and UAE
artists are well represented.

Tabloid: What were the most difficult and the best part of putting
together this event?
Jack Persekian: It was a great challenge to have an overall vision
and to communicate it so that everyone on the project felt a part of
it.

The most difficult part was to convince myself that I can live up to
the challenge and deliver. The best part is to see my concept
materialise and to know that people from all over the world feel it
is worthwhile being involved in it.

Tabloid: Could you mention some of the highlights among the exhibits?

Jack Persekian: Every artist has something to say and every exhibit
we have is interesting.

But I cherish the projects by artists who came down early to think
through their ideas with us and tried to understand the place, the
venue, the region and culture and created specific artworks for this
theme and venue.

Tabloid: What has been the role of artists during the Palestinian
conflict? What kind of response do they get during exhibitions
abroad?
Jack Persekian: In general, the role of art and artists, like that of
all intellectuals, is to challenge dogmas and notions of stagnation,
provoke thought on issues pertinent to society, elaborate on the
aspirations of people and articulate what the future could be.

In Palestine, artists have always been in the forefront of the
liberation movement. They started by creating a consciousness of
identity among people and their role has evolved with time.

Through their depiction of issues that affect Palestinians they have
played an active role in having the voice of Palestine heard
worldwide.

The response to Palestinian artists abroad is overwhelming. People
see news about the region all the time and are curious to meet the
people living through it.

Tabloid: Where does Arab art stand in relation to the international
art scene?
Jack Persekian: Today there is intense focus on this region, either
because of wars and conflict or because of thriving economies like
that of the UAE.

Arab artists, especially the younger generation, have addressed these
issues quite articulately through their work.

Arab art is in tune with international art and many artists from this
region are making an impact on the international scene.