HOW BEAUTIFUL IS PANAMA! A photographic conversation from Burj al-Shamali camp

The Exhibiton can be seen at UMAM D&R, a Lebanese non-profit ornganisation, form 2 May - 18 May 2008.

Background on the project written by Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh

There is a famed German childrens tale by the name of “Oh wie schön ist Panama!“ (How beautiful is Panama!). In the story, Tiger and bear, two dear close friends, live together in their little house in the woods next to a long streaming river. One day while fishing, little bear happens upon a wooden box with the word “Panama” written on its surface. The box smells good, magically alluring, and inspires all manner of fantasies about this unknown place. Not long thereafter, he and little Tiger decide to go off to Panama, the land of their dreams. They struggle along the way, for none of the animals they meet have heard of this mysterious “Panama,” much less could point them in the right direction. Finally, a black crow invites them up to a tree from which they could see the valley where they formerly lived. It is so beautiful; the bear and the tiger are stunned, never realizing that it is in fact their former home that they are gazing down at. They are convinced that this is the Panama of their dreams.

When I initiated small summer-workshops in six camps in 2001 along with photographer Simon Lourié, I never imagined that I’d be going back and forth to the camps for four years until deciding to finally live in one of them, Burj al-Shamali. I was aware that entering the camps and handing out cameras to children was a loaded act. I hesitated in continuing, constantly second-guessing myself. Why propose a cultural activity in a place with more pressing needs? How does one deal with images that are produced by a community and not by oneself? And what happens when the workshop ends?

Still, the youth I met and collaborated with somehow urged me to continue the project.

Burj al-Shamali is a particularly poor but calm camp established in 1956 to house part of the influx of the Palestinian population fleeing their country’s naqba. South of the city of Tyre, the camp is about one hour’s drive from Beirut proper, its population mainly made up of persons who hail from the north of Palestine. Though all primary Palestinian parties are represented in the camp, it is not a representative crossroads nor microcosm of the conflict going on in Palestine.

It was in 2006 that Abu Wassim, director of the Burj al-Shamali socio-cultural centre of Beit Atfal Assoumoud, accepted to host our “atelier” on the top floor of his building after having watched us repeatedly run courses for the past five years. To this day, this space is essential to our work; the youth come here regularly to edit and discuss their photographs. It was in fact there, working together, that we came to select the photographs presented in this exhibition.

Ahmad al-Khalil has produced several different series of views of the camp. His photographs are highly aesthetic; he plays with shadows, the light of the sunset, and a variety of unusual perspectives. In the end, he opted to show one of his series, a rumination on the borders of the camp.

Mapping and deconstructing activity is a critical element of Ali al-Ali’s work.  In one series, we see him documenting the construction of a mosque within the bounds of the camp. He took the first picture in 2001, and we see a progression onward into 2008.

Fatmeh Soleiman is profoundly patient, taking one picture at a time - sometimes one a day, other times nothing for weeks. While she resists attaching too much meaning to this work, her two series on exhibition here address the interplay between the reality around her and her will to dream.

Mohammad Amiuny’s work raises questions as to the status of work within the camp, here focusing on young men in particular and their need to make a living. He produced a series of triptychs representing the workspace; this series is in progress.

Nisreen Mushrfih recently started a project on portraiture within the camp. She wanted to honor the persons who are alive and well in the collective memory and memorialized via the photograph.

Susan al-Khatib’s series reveals the diversity of the persons living within the camp. Though she moved to nearby al-Buss camp after getting married, she continues her inventorizing of doors, windows, sofas, beds, and drying laundry there.

Yasser Ibrahim wanted to work on Palestine. He set out to photograph the camp elders, or in other words, those who knew the Palestine he never did. He also analyzed the visual environment of the camps. Parties and associations battle each other by raising posters over and next to each other all over walls, frames and even on electricity cables. Herein is a visual chronicle of those battles.

The ultimate aim of our work never was to make professional photographers out of the youth, but rather, to encourage them to use photography as a tool for expression. Questioning images and supporting each photographer’s individual vision is central to our project.

„How beautiful is Panama!“ is the first chapter of an ongoing project that is part research, part open-ended conversation on the visual memory of Burj al-Shamali camp. Along with the atelier, a project of archiving family and studio photographs is in progress, along with the production of a documentary film on the youth at hand.

The project would not have gotten this far without the support of the Arab Image Foundation (Lebanon) and the Prince Claus Fund (Holland).

Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh

 

Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh’s project in Burj al-Shamali is supported by both organizations as part of the Network partnership.

 

 

two photos taken at the opening night of the exhibition How Beautiful is Panama!

    Work by

Alial-Ali
Ahmad al-Khalil
Susan al-Khatib  
Mohammad Amiony
Yasmine Eid-Sabbagh
Yasser Ibrahim
Simon Louri
Nisreen Musherfieh
Fatmeh Soleiman

Links en downloads

www.umam-dr.org
Announcement

Network Partnerships

The Prince Claus Fund has an extensive international network of individuals and organisations. With a select number of organisations that are active in various cultural fields around the world, the Fund has forged formal long term agreements to work together. Read more about the Network Partnerships

Each year two network partners are chosen by the Prince Claus Fund. The selection is made by the Prince Claus Fund and its international board of advisors. No open applications are accepted for this programme.

For information on the Network programme please contact Joumana El Zein J.elzein@princeclausfund.nl