1395 Days Without Red, 2012
1395 Days Without Red, 2012
Production still by Milomir Kovačevic Strašni
courtesy of Artangel
Overview
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE), March 15, 2012 — Sharjah Art Foundation will present 1395 Days without Red, a cinematic project by Šejla Kamerić and Anri Sala, in collaboration with Ari Benjamin Meyers. Commissioned by the internationally-lauded UK-based organisation Artangel, 1395 Days without Red comprises two separate works made from material developed and filmed together in Sarajevo. This is the Middle East premiere of this film and Artangelʼs first project to be hosted in the region.
1395 Days without Red draws on the experience of the siege of Sarajevo between 1992 and 1996, and the trauma of the besieged citizens as they made their way through the city. The title refers to the fact that, during the siege, the Sarajevans were advised not to wear bright colours that might alert the snipers in the hills above to their movements.
The films will be screened on three separate occasions. On the evening of March 17, the screening will be held at 6:30 pm at the Sharjah Institute of Theatrical Arts, immediately following the close of the first day of Sharjah Art Foundationʼs March Meeting. This evening will feature Anri Salaʼs version of the project and will be followed by a reception co-hosted by the British Council and attended by the artists and Artangel Co-Director James Lingwood.
On March 18, Šejla Kamerićʼs version of the film will be screened outdoors in the courtyard at Sharjahʼs Bait Al Shamsi House in the Arts Area, Sharjah.
On March 25, both films will be screened together at the American University of Sharjah and will be followed by a panel discussion between artist Šejla Kamerić, AUS Professor Jack Swanstrom and University of Sharjah Professor Isak Berbic.
Sharjah Art Foundation has partnered with the UK-based non-profit, Artangel on the presentation of this project. For 20 years Artangel has been internationally recognised for its groundbreaking art commissions. This will be their first project to be presented in the Middle East. On March 17, Artangel Co-Director James Lingwood will give a presentation on the organisationʼs history of commissions, at 5:15pm as the closing presentation for the first day of the March Meeting.
The Sharjah screenings of this project are supported by British Council.
About the Artists:
Šejla Kamerić
Šejla Kamerić was born in 1976 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She uses mainly photography and video as media juxtaposing an explicit social context with intimate perspectives. Her approach to art also includes public interventions, diverse types of actions and site-specific installations. She won the National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania ONUFRI award for 2004, Special award at (46th) October Salon, Belgrade in 2005 and The ECF Routes Princess Margriet Award for Cultural Diversity in 2011. Šejla received DAAD- Berlin, Artist in Residency Fellowship for 2007. Her works have been exhibited throughout Europe, in the USA and in Japan, and have been included in some prestigious European collections such as Muse d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris; COFF, San Sebastian; collection of the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her first short film "What do I Know", premiered in Corto Cortissimo section of (64th) Venice International Film Festival and circulated over 40 film festivals winning Best Short Film awards at (5th) Zagreb Film Festival and (15th) Adana Film Festival.
Anri Sala
Anri Sala was born in Tirana, Albania, in 1976 and grew up under the most repressive regime in Europe, the Stalinist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha. His body of work, primarily in video, is distinguished not so much by a particular look or subject matter as by a specific sensibility. Working primarily with music and location-based filming, Salaʼs works are precise evocations of particular sensibilities, made in places as far afield as Albania, Africa, Berlin and now Sarajevo. Anri Sala was educated at the National Academy of Arts, Tirana; at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris; and at Le Fresnoy, Studio National des Arts Contemporains in Tourcoing. Sala has exhibited internationally and is the recipient of numerous prizes. Recent solo shows include Background/Foreground with Edi Rama (About Change Collection, Berlin, 2010) and Purchase Not By Moonlight at various galleries including Marian Goodman Gallery in New York (2009), Contemporary Arts Centre in Cincinatti (2009) and the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami (2008). Concurrent with the London presentation of 1395 Days Without Red, the Serpentine will present an exhibition of his work. For further information visit serpentinegallery.org.
Ari Benjamin Meyers
Ari Benjamin Meyers was born in 1972 in New York and now lives in Berlin. He is a composer and conductor internationally known for his diverse output and as a specialist for complex, cross-genre productions. His work, which is increasingly being presented in an art context, often takes the form of productive sabotage; he constructs and deconstructs musical situations that play on the expectations of audiences. The range of his activities is evidenced by his many collaborations including with the artists Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Anri Sala and Tino Sehgal, as well as the bands Einstürzende Neubauten (with whom he has made two CDʼs), The Orb and The Residents, the performance group La Fura dels Baus, the interdisciplinary architecture team Raumlabor Berlin, and the electronic music pioneer Morton Subotnik. His most recent film score was accompanied the French horror film La Meute, which premiered as an official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. He is the founder of Soundfair and initiated the trend-setting project, Club Redux – a platform from which he explored the pairing of contemporary music with dance and electronic music in a series of club nights in Berlin. The 17- piece Redux Orchestra that grew out of these performances has established itself as an independent force on the new music scene; their first solo CD was released on Potomak/Indigo and is a recording of Meyersʼ 70 minute work SYMPHONY X. The German newspaper Die Zeit described his work this way: 'A completely new music that doesn't even have a name yet.'
About Artangel
ARTANGEL is a London-based arts organisation that commissions and produces exceptional projects by outstanding contemporary artists. In 2011 it celebrated 20 years of James Lingwood and Michael Morris as Co-Directors. 2012 marks 20 years since their first commissions by sculptors Stephan Balkenhol and Juan Muñoz; ambitious public projects in and by the River Thames in London. Over the past two decades, projects have materialised in a range of different sites and situations and in countless forms of media, from film and video to sculpture and sound installations. Artangel has generated some of the most talked-about, contentious and acclaimed art of recent times, including work by Francis Alÿs, Matthew Barney, Jeremy Deller, Douglas Gordon, Michael Landy, Brian Eno, Gregor Schneider, Robert Wilson, Rachel Whiteread, Roger Hiorns and Susan Philipsz .www.artangel.org.uk
1395 Days without Red is commissioned by Artangel with Manchester International Festival, Whitworth Art Gallery (Manchester), Fundació Museu DʼArt Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam), enabled by Han Nefkens, H+F patronage, Festival dʼAutomne (Paris), Arts Council England, European Cultural Foundation, Film Fund Sarajevo, Marian Goodman Gallery (New York), Hauser & Wirth (London & Zurich). Co-produced by Artangel and SCCA/pro.ba. The Sharjah presentation of the project is supported by British Council.
Schedule of screenings
March 17 -
6:30pm - Film by Anri Sala Sharjah Institute of Theatrical Arts,Heritage Area, Sharjah
March 18
8.30pm – Film by Šejla Kamerić at Bait Al Shamsi, Arts Area, Sharjah
March 25
6pm – Films by Anri Sala & Šejla Kamerić
8pm – Conversation with Šejla Kamerić, Main Building Auditorium, American University of Sharjah
Sharjah Art Foundation March Programme:
Taking place from March 17 – 19, 2012, March Meeting is an annual gathering of artists, art professionals and institutions concerned with the production and dissemination of art in the region and internationally.
March 8
What should I do to live in your life? An exhibition that introduces work by seven artists, all strangers to Sharjah, into a space that was originally a family home
March 16
Ziad Antarʼs exhibition and book launch Portrait of a Territory
March 17
Screening of 1395 Days without Red an Artangel commission by Šejla Kamerić and Anri Sala in collaboration with Ari Benjamin Meyers
March 18
Basma Alsharifʼs exhibition Farther Than the Eye Can See
March 19
Revisiting Tarab an Evening of Music by Tarek Atoui
For further information on Sharjah Art Foundation and the March programme please visit www.sharjahart.org
About Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF):
Sharjah Art Foundation brings a broad range of contemporary art and cultural programmes to the communities of Sharjah, the UAE and the region. Since 2009 SAF has built on the history of cultural collaboration and exchange that began with the first Sharjah Biennial in 1993. Working with local and international partners, we create opportunities for artists and artistic production through our core initiatives that include the Sharjah Biennial, the annual March Meeting, residencies, production grants, commissions, exhibitions, research, publications and a growing collection. Our education and public programmes focus on building recognition of the central role art can play in the life of a community by promoting public learning and a participatory approach to art. Sharjah Art Foundation is funded by the Department of Culture and Information, Government of Sharjah.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sharjah Art Foundation
Alyazeyah Al-Reyaysa
Public & Media Relations Officer
Tel: +971-6-544-4113, ext. 26
E: alyazeyah@sharjahart.org
FITZ & CO, New York
Meg Blackburn
Tel: +1 212-627-1455 x 225
E: meg@fitzandco.com