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Indepth Arts News:
"CALL FOR ARTISTS : Voices of the Middle East"
2011-02-15 until 2011-03-15
Noorderlicht Gallery
Groningen, ,
NL Netherlands
The beginning of 2011 marks an impressive turnaround. First the people of Tunisia cried out for freedom in massive numbers, resulting in a unprecedented fast downfall and change of their government. Quickly thereafter, the people of Egypt did the same by the millions, with an outcome that is as yet uncertain. We see reports of starting protests in other countries in the region.
Some commentators have already made an analogy to 1989, when as dominos all the governments in then-communist Eastern Europe fell. It is impossible to tell at this point if such predictions are realistic or just expressions of media eagerness. What is certain, is that there are enormous changes in two major countries, resulting from the people demanding their voices to be heard. A new force to be reckoned with are the Internet and social media, playing a major role in bringing people together, and freely spreading information and opinion. Just as certain is the uncertainty about what comes next: proponents of Western freedom and Islamic fundamentalists now march side by side, but their paths might clash later.
Despite continuous reports from press and media, the focus lies steadily on ‘the square’ and the immediate pictures of the uprising. Noorderlicht wonders what does not reach us and is interested in seeing the stories behind the scenes and reports on an individual level. What is happening in other cities, or a few streets further on?
Noorderlicht plans to track these developments back and forth in time. What has lead up to this, what is happening now, where is it heading? Next to photojournalists’ accounts, we are interested to see the response of local photographers and photographic artists and how they connect these events to their social situation at large.
Are you a photographer actively working on this? Do you work with photographers that do such, or know of them? Please contact Noorderlicht at pandora@noorderlicht.com.
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