(for Dutch version click here)
Gaza ‘24 – at Kunstruimte Het Langhuis Zwolle. An exhibition by Ahmed Aldaalsa (Gaza), Olivier Otten (Zwolle), Ibrahim Kurt (Den Bosch), Thijs Verster, Basma Alafifi (Egypte) & Fakkelteit in Beatbox. 08 2024
At this moment in time, I have been a board member at Kunstruimte het Langhuis, Zwolle for several years and from that capacity have initiated, curated and created this exhibition titled Gaza’24 together with Wim Marseille and help from many other Langhuis volunteers and beyond. Normally this is a task for the exhibition committee but this was an exception to that rule, I had a particular cause.
Young In Gaza aftermath – Summer 2023 I bought a beautiful piece of art by a young artist Fatma Haloupi, a female artist that was part of the exhibition Young In Gaza (curated by Thijs Verster). The war in Gaza had not yet started but would soon unravel. We, Fatma and I, have kept in touch very summarily since then. With that came a contact, Ahmed.
Meeting Ahmed Aldaalsa – April 2024 – Ahmed Aldaalsa, unknown to me then, messaged me and asked if I wanted to crowdfund his and his family’s attempt to escape from Gaza. This direct question raised a feeling of unease. There are many more Gazans like Ahmed in the same horrible situation, of course we like to help but where does this end, I asked myself. A glance at his Instagram page made me decide to make an extra effort to provide him with a stage. Ahmed is a young artist capable of transforming his experiences and despair into a visual image, thus by providing a stage for him, we provide a stage for the suffering of others. His drawings are profound and vulnerable. By these images his story practically tells itself.
The exhibition – Hence I gave Ahmed and Fatma a place on my website- a guest page. Secondly, I shared the idea for a physical exhibition featuring Ahmed with the other board members of the Langhuis and the exhibition committee, they immediately reacted enthusiastically and we got to work. Gaza’24 was a fact.
“How can someone lose everything he owns without losing his mind?” questions Ahmed. With his charcoal drawings, he depicts his desperation in a devastated Gaza.
Ahmed + -Next to Ahmed we invited other artists to show work within the same theme: Olivier Otten, Ibrahim Kurt, Thijs Vertser and Basma Alafifi (Gaza/Egypt) with, in addition, a contribution from Fakkelteit, Beatbox led by Ricardo McDougal (image and sound recording by Lesley Da Rosa).
The sale – Oliver Otten made a series of quality silkscreen prints of Ahmed’s artworks. The artworks consist of 5 drawings and one photograph that have been enlarged by AI and where manually printed on A2 and A3 paper in small editions. These special prints were on sale at the Langhuis during the exhibition. We collected more than €3000,- with this sale during the exhibition. The proceeds benefited went to Ahmed
Read all about this exhibition @ https://www.langhuis.nl/expected-gaza-24/
