Artist presentation with Shareef Sarhan, photographer and founder of Shababeek Contemporary in Gaza
On Thursday, 8 February, Shareef Sarhan, co-founder of the Gazan organization Shababeek for Contemporary Art, will hold an informal presentation at Fotogalleriet in Oslo.
Our sister organisation in Gaza, Shababeek for Contemporary Art, has been providing a space for art production in the Gaza Strip since 2009. Today, the centre is under the threat of physical destruction, and Palestinian artists are forcibly displaced and on the move. Among these civilians is Shareef Sarhan, who, on February 8th will hold an informal presentation of his artistic work and the conditions surrounding art production in the Gaza Strip at Fotogalleriet.
The talk is devoted to the need to think about art institutional reconstruction in Gaza to not surrender to the violent and oppressive forces of the War.
The event is free and does not require registration.
Sarhan’s talk at Fotogalleriet is co-organised with the kind support of Forbundet Frie Fotografer (FFF, The Norwegian Association for Fine Art Photographers).
The presentation is part of the informal public programme for the exhibition The Lost Tapes of A Peoples’ Tribunal, 1982 by Palestinian artist Ayman Alazraq. For updates on events in the exhibition space, follow Fotogalleriet’s social media.
To support Shababeek and artists from Gaza, Fotogalleriet and the artist are also facilitating the sales of 5 artists’ photographic prints. For more information, see here.
Shareef Sarhan was born in Gaza in 1976 and is a visual artist and photographer. He is a founding member of the collective Shababeek for Contemporary Art and a member of the Association of Palestinian Artists. Sarhan received his diploma in Arts from the University of ICS in the United States. He participated in Darat Al Funun Academy in Jordan under the supervision of the artist Marwan Kassab Bachi. He received the Bronze Award from the Festival of Arab Photographers in 2008 and the Recognition Award in 2007. Sarhan produced the photobook “Gaza Live” in 2012. His work was exhibited in 2022 in Berlin, Gaza, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Amman, Britain, and the United States.
Shababeek for Contemporary Art is an artist-founded space specialised in the exhibition of contemporary art. It is a non-profit art space that was established in 2009 by young professional artists. It presents the art work of Palestinian artists residing in the Gaza Strip through its exhibition hall and other online platforms. Shababeek presents Palestinian art to the world in a unique and contemporary manner. It also works on strengthening the role of young artists and developing their contemporary tools and mediums through their participation in exhibitions, workshops, meetings, residences and through offering production grants.