When I was a little girl, I used to believe in angels, magic and that everyone is going to heaven!
I used to think that if I’m in danger, angels will save me!
And if I’m having a bad day, it is ok ,
because I’ll end up in heaven.

I’ve never felt sorry about kids with no parents, or my friend, that girl with big glasses at school who everyone used to laugh at.
Because no matter what happens, God will take them to heaven.

When I caught my mum crying after my grandma passed away, I didn’t even try to cheer her up
I though: oh it can’t be that bad, God knows she’s mad,
and he’ll take care of it, isn’t that’s why he invented heaven?
So that kids with no parents can have a shoulder to cry on when they’re sad?
So that my friend, the girl with big glasses at school who everyone used to laugh at, can actually laugh one day? Not out of misery, not out of shame, out of happiness and out of joy
So She can pick up the tiny pieces of her dreams off the floor, the dreams that everyone tried to destroy?
And that one day, instead of remembering her as the girl with big glasses at school who everyone used to laugh at,
she can be remembered as the most beautiful ,smart ,funny girl who knew no matter what happens, god will take us to heaven!

Now I’m not a little girl no more, I know that there’s no magic, there’s no angels…and probably there’s no heaven!
I know that kids with no parents, will have pain, sorrow and tears
And at the end of the night, there will be no one to whisper goodnight in their ears.
And when I think of my friend, I still remember her as the girl with big glasses at school who everyone used to laugh at!

Now, I know that life can be hard…it can be tragic,
and I can guarantee you, there’s no fairy tales and there’s no magic!

And that life can be an awful song, with bad rhymes that you have to listen to every morning!
But you have to sing it anyway, and sing it loud until your ears fall in love with what they’re hearing.

I tasted the bitterness and I’m still striving to taste the sweet.
I gave pieces of my heart away more than once without asking for anything, and I was like: hey, that’s my treat!
When I was close to the edge and about to fall, I reached out to life,
and instead of taking my hand she gave me an earthquake
I looked up and said no no, don’t expect me to fall…not that quick!

Life, tried to shake my faith, as hard as she could, and you know what! some of my faith is lost now
But As a grown up women, I still play hide and seek and merry go rounds
I hide from pain and seek comfort under my mum’s arms.
I run away from the people I don’t like and around the ones I love.

And if you’re having a bad day, I’ll tell you don’t worry, it is ok
Cause no matter what happens, god will take us to heaven!

Today in Baghdad  the Iraqi people celebrated the memory of the great iraqi sculptural  Jawad Salim, the clebration was orgnize by Al-mada   Foundation  of information  culture and the arts in collaboration with the secretariat of Baghdad on Friday night in Tahrir Square under the Monument of Liberty by the late Jawad Salim on the occasion of the passage of half a century of his death where the ceremony was attended by a large number of political figures, cultural and artistic by playing pieces of the music by Iraqi  Symphony and  reading poetic pieces in his honer ,this was a message from the people to the world that in spite of all the violence in Iraq they still believe in hope ,art and better live and future

The Artellewa Arab Collaboration Project will bring together six artists and writers from countries of the Arab uprisings in Cairo to collaboratively develop a creative project over a ten-week residency, from March 15 – May 31, 2012. Artellewa aims to create a space for reflection during this time of transition; a space for rejuvenation of ideas and progressive thought; a space for dialogue and exchange between artists who have experienced different modes of uprising and resistance. The project aims to strengthen a network that can envision a new Arab World in which cooperation and collaboration across national borders is normalized.

Artellewa Art Space believes in artists and writers as essential agents for change. Artists, when best performing their role as citizens, pose imperative questions about societies and their environments. It is our belief that these questions about change in the Arab World will most successfully be developed within the region itself. As in other sectors of political, social, and economic development, the most effective development is self-determined and sovereign. Thus, Artellewa Art Space has developed the Artellewa Arab Collaboration Project as an open platform for six Arab artists to realize a project of their own design, in collaboration with each other.

About the project

Artellewa Art Space will provide the team with the space, tools, and network to develop a collaborative art project with a popular impact. A group of six Arab artists will utilize the live/work studios and exhibition space at Artellewa Art Space for collaborative work. The project is executed in a ten-week period, during which each artist will record her or his personal reflections on the process on a shared blog. The group will participate in a series of public events sharing their process and project. Finally, the artists will produce an exhibition and publication.

Artellewa chooses to leave the concept of the project open-ended, to encourage an unrestricted collaborative experience between the artists. As the Arab World is facing the future of its states and societies without a clear roadmap, the team of artists will approach their project with a clean slate. The only parameters that Artellewa sets are that the process be well-documented and the final project has contemporary socio-political relevance. The team is provided with materials, the means to produce a publication, and space to install an exhibition at Artellewa . With guidance from a project manager and a mentor, it is up to the artists to decide how to configure these elements within the project.

Four artists will be selected from different Arab countries, as well as two Egyptian artists. Artellewa covers the cost of airfare to Cairo and residency for artists residing outside of Egypt, and a modest stipend during the project for all artists.

This project is made possible with support from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture and the British Council in Cairo.

Participants: Who are the participants we seek?

Qualifications:

1. Artellewa seeks applications from artists and writers from countries of the Arab uprisings for a ten-week residency in Cairo, from March 15 – May 31, 2012. Artists must be available to reside in Cairo for the entire ten-week period.
2. Artellewa seeks individuals artists who are active in their local culture scene. and who have made meaningful contributions to social and political change in their home countries through artistic practice. Artists may demonstrate significant activity as active participants in local institutions and/or as activists using creative strategies.
3. Artists should demonstrate the ability to communicate and collaborate with other artists or local populations through community projects, artistic collaborations, or membership in artist collectives. The strength of each applicant’s portfolio will also be an important factor.
4. Artists and writers may be working in any medium to qualify.

How to apply

Please send the following materials in one email to artellewa@gmail.com with the subject heading “Arab Collaboration Project”:

1. A letter introducing yourself, indicating how you are active in your local culture scene, and what skills and knowledge you can bring to a collaborative project with socio-political relevance. Please detail any previous experience in artist collectives, collaborations, or community projects.

2. Your CV

3. Portfolio in one of the following formats. Artist’s website; 10-15 images (jpeg) accompanied by an image list; A PDF of a maximum of 15 pages; Maximum of 20 MB of video or sound files accompanied by name and description.

Deadline

February 5, 2012

* Artellewa Space for Contemporary Art is located in Ard El Lewa, an informal residential neighborhood in the northwest of Giza, Egypt. Situated between the two great squatter settlements of Cairo, Boulak El-Dakrour and Imbaba, Ard El Lewa is a labyrinth of crowded dirt roads housing grey concrete buildings.

Hamdy Reda website.

We’re happy to say that since last week it’s been available as an iPhone application as well, which you can download here. Screenshots below:

The protesters demanded the closing of the private broadcaster Nessma TV, which broadcast the film. Hundreds of attackers later attacked the house of Nabil Karoui station manager and set it on fire.

The film Persepolis from 2007 is based on a comic who lives in France. Iranian author Marjane Satrapi talks about her childhood and youth in Iran. She was nominated for an Oscar and won the Cannes Film Festival with a special price. Iranian filmmakers are becoming in internationally acclaimed works deal with the political and social reality of their country. Including Jafar Panahi.

In 2006 he received for his film Offside, the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in February that he would even sit on the jury of the Berlinale – but was allowed because he was under house arrest for not leaving Iran. Now he must go to prison for six years. As state media reported on Saturday, Panahi failed on appeal, his sentence was confirmed in this instance. The 20-year career and travel ban on Panahi has also been maintained.

If you saw the film you will understand it is a classic piece of art that needed to be shown all over schools in the Mideast ,many youth will find them connected with the tale of freedom against tyranny of radical mind ,the protester leaders may win points in the election but had lost for them self and the new tunisa points in respect ,open minded and the hope to build a model state to lead the Arabic future as they did when the lead the Arabic revolutionary movements , I believe they went out to stop the warning message of the movie against radical domination  of power in name of Islam ,and they used the God image as excuses.

By those young men and women, Baghdad Peace Festival was created, planned and executed in the mere period of 20 days of planning, and under the wings of Iraqi Alamal Association (IAA) a non-profit organization, and under very limited budgeting, they made the impossible come true, and I’m proud to be one of them; for they have made a name for themselves; Shbab Alamal (The Youth of Hope), and through live music by a young guitarist and Oud artist, rap songs and poems about peace, a theater play that shows the opinion of the youth about the current political situation and face-paints, children plays and much more; they made a smile draw in the faces of children, made a mother so proud of her daughter that she was a part of this, made a father so innocently remake his mind about the future of the war-torn Iraq, made an old man jealous that he would have been with them in spite of the grey hair on his head, but, little did they know, we will fill the space; because we are them!

A success is a short word for the description of this amazing monument, a shrine for all the pilgrims of peace in this land, despite all the darkness that -tries to- surround Baghdad, yet again, the Iraqi rose to the occasion, and made the impossible come true!

After Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight in protest at repeated ill-treatment by the police, the whole Arab world echoed his scream of pain and call for justice and many countries were shaken by anti-government demonstrations. Mohamed Bouazizi is a street vendor. He was never allowed to set up a permanent stall even though he had repeatedly applied to the town hall and even the presidential office. His demands for a job and for dignity fell on deaf ears. He was trying to make a living by selling fruits and vegetables but he was often prevented from that by the police who asked for a bribe and confiscated his produce. December 17, 2010 was just another tough day. Unable to pay the bribe, a policewoman slapped him on the face and three policemen beat him. They took the scales he borrowed from his friend and the fruits and vegetables. Mohamed Bouazizi, desperate as he was, went to the town hall pleading for the scales back as he was unable to buy others for his friend. Nobody listened to him and as usual he was turned away. A burning sense of injustice pushed him to douse himself in petrol and put fire to himself in the middle of the road, in front of the town hall. Mohamed Bouazizi’s act of public protest started the Arab revolution. People in sidi Bouzid took to the streets denouncing social injustice, corruption and oppression. Thanks to social media, they could break through the media blackout imposed by the state and people across Tunisia supported them in an unprecedented solidarity movement and anti-government uprising since 1987. Pan-Arab media reported on the events using Facebook videos. Soon after, Egyptians took to the streets in spectacular nation-wide protests calling for the end of the regime. Slogans similar to those heard in Tunisia resonated throughout Egypt expressing similar social and political problems and similar yearnings for freedom and dignity, reminding Arabs how similar their societies were. The call for the end of dictatorship resounded across the Arab world and voices of dissent were heard in many countries including Algeria, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, Morocco, Jordan and Syria. Those opposition movements were peaceful but were all answered with extreme brutality from security forces. As they were protesting, many Arabs expressed solidarity with other Arab countries, recognized the legitimacy of the demands, and called for Arab unity. The collective Arab soul was somehow revived.

A scene from Proud to be an Arab

Mohamed Bouazizi’s symbolical act and the uprising across the Arab world inflamed the imagination of Egypt’s youngest Filmaker Safwan Nasser El Din who is only twenty, and his team of gifted young people. They have subscribed to the Arab nation’s peaceful efforts to put an end to dictatorship and used art as their weapon. They have produced a very fine piece of art which conveys Arabs’ sufferings and longings and Arab youth’s determination to change their reality into a better one through peaceful movements. The short movie Proud to be an Arab was posted on YouTube yesterday for everyone to watch. Young activists are using social media that helped spark the Arab intifada to encourage people to dream on and fulfill their dreams.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOp_xXsB8m4[/youtube]

Director Safwan Nasser El Din says, “بصوت واحد..بقلب واحد..و بقلم واحد.. نسطر تاريخا جديدا لنا-نحن العرب-ونلفت أنظار العالم إلينا بأننا لسنا كما يريدون أن يشاهدونا, ولكن كما نريدهم أن يعرفونا, ونقولها بكل فخر..أنا عربى و أفتخر” which translates to, “with one voice, with one heart, with one pen, we Arabs, will write our new history and draw the world’s attention to who we really are, a people whose image is different from the one that has been painted about us. We’ll show them who we are through our own eyes and we will each say with much pride, ‘I am an Arab and I am proud of it’” Safwan Nasser El Din refers to Western media’s portrayal of Arabs who are often demonized, vilified and usually represented as violent extremists. He believes that committed art can change this. The popular uprisings which shook the Arab world proved that the vast majority of Arabs did not opt for violence and did not even answer violence with violence. They are claiming universal rights such as freedom, justice and democracy and denouncing human rights violations. In this short movie Proud to be an Arab, Safwan Nasser El Din voices the Arab street’s demand for justice, self-governance and unity. His ingenious use of symbols imparts a greater understanding of the story of Arab uprisings and delicately expresses youth’s feelings, dreams and hopes. He skilfully blends staged scenes and extracts from poignant moments of the major popular protests that took place in various Arab countries. The movie is laden with meaningful symbols and though their power actually lays in their obvious connotation, like any work of art they are open to interpretation. I would like to comment on some symbols which raised a few questions on Facebook. The man clad in taditional Arab clothes (i.e. the white dress and head cover) stands for Arab despots in general and not for a particular dictator in a particular country or region of the Arab world. I find the actor oustanding and the first scenes very powerful in their juxtaposition of the images in which the man in white is drinking red wine and devouring meat and the images in which the giant is bleeding and sreaming out in pain at every bite, suggesting that the detainer is sinking his teeth into the detainee’s skin. This metaphor is very telling and its significance is doubled as the detainee’s screams are echoed a few minutes later by Mohamed Bouazizi’s screams. In the movie, the cart of Mohamed Bouazizi, symbol of the vendor’s own life, was taken away from him by the policeman who demamnded a bribe. Corruption is rife in the whole Arab world and the scream of one man found an echo in millions avid for freedom, equality and a dignified life. It is noticeable that the only woman in the movie represents Tunisia. My own reading of this symbol is that the Arab intifada was like a foetus in the womb of Tunisia or simply because Tunisia helped midwife the angry giant that is the Arab people. It is worth noting that this giant is wearing the peace emblem. This film is a journey into the Arab’s psyche, dreams and hope for a just world. I invite you all to enjoy watching this fine work of art produced by a team of very talented young people!

A scene from Proud to be an Arab

A scene from Proud to be an Arab

Director Safwan Nasser El Din with an actor

Human rights are being violated every day in the Arab world! Support peaceful Arab movements for Freedom and Justice! Support a better world for tomorrow!