In an email sent to supporters, Ashkal Alwan, a nonprofit arts organization in Lebanon, has announced that it will indefinitely postpone the eighth edition of its forum “Home Works,” scheduled to take place October 17-27, 2019 in Beirut. The past week has seen an extraordinary popular uprising in Lebanon, and as Ashkal Alwan’s explains in its message, they wish to redirect their “artistic, intellectual, and organizational energy” towards participating. Read the full statement in English below, or go here to read it in Arabic.
STATEMENT
ON THE INDEFINITE POSTPONEMENT OF HOME WORKS 8
We do not regret to inform you that Ashkal Alwan is indefinitely postponing all programmes and events scheduled to take place from October 17-27, 2019 as part of the 8th edition of Home Works: A Forum on Cultural Practices.
The launch of this edition of Home Works has once again been overwhelmed by the very forces that had initially led to its inception in 2001. Lebanon is witnessing spontaneous popular uprisings, bent on targeting our current regime and its security apparatuses, as well as toppling sectarian discourses and their hold on public life.
Artistic and cultural institutions and initiatives are in no way isolated from broader civic, political, economic, and ideological contexts, but rather shaped as a result of and in response to historical events and their repercussions. This edition of Home Works initially called on participants to partake in acts of collective world-building, suggesting pathways to re-imagine social relations as they currently stand. Then, it seemed pertinent to echo the region’s manyfold attempts at dismantling inherited structures of the past and designing alternative blueprints for the future, from Sudan to Syria, and from Algeria to Iraq. Today, it is our turn.
In the past week, we have actively participated in mass protests and general strikes, closely monitored the situation as it was unfolding, and consulted with friends and colleagues from the legal, academic, journalistic, and artistic-cultural sectors to decide on the best way forward. Our conclusion: there shouldn’t be any reason to regret or apologize for the indefinite postponement of our programmes and events. Our artistic, intellectual, and organizational energy will be redirected towards the achievement of our hopes and aspirations, the possibility of which is being granted to us by a momentum that should be seized at any cost.
See you in the streets.
Ashkal Alwan
Image via Ashkal Alwan.