A new exhibition opening today celebrates the humanities side of the Syrian conflict. At Mana Contemporary’s Middle East Center for the Arts, a show titled Syria: A Silenced Scream features the revolutionary and resistance-focused art of the Syrian people.
The exhibit is opening in the United States for the first time. It was organized by the collective The Syrian People Know Their Way, an anonymous group of bloggers, activists, designers, and artists operating with intent to challenge the oppression of creative practices that exists in Syria as the violence there intensifies. For this exhibit, more than 200 works created between 2011 and now have been translated from Arabic to English for the first time.
The exhibit’s catalog describes the work on display as such:
Thematically, the works address issues at the forefront of the conflict today, including atrocities directed by the al-Assad regime; perspectives on foreign intervention; the role of major international actors including the U.S., Hezbollah, Iran, and Egypt; and opposition to sectarian violence and religious extremism. These materials, challenging decades of Ba’athist control over creative expression, allow viewers to examine the political reality of Syria authentically and unmediated through the perspective of the strugglers, rather than learning about the conflict through Western norms and points of view. Published in an archival format, the exhibition documents the movement and makes it accessible for generations to come.
Check out some of the images from the show above.
Mana Contemporary is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. Free transportation will be provided from Manhattan for the opening night event. Check here for more information.
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[via Mana Contemporary]
