Al Mahatta Gallery - An Empty Car Park in Ramallah, Palestine 

Reem Fekri

Al Mahatta

Ramallah is considered the most affluent, cultural and liberal of all Palestinian cities, and is home to many contemporary artists. However, until recently there was a lack of contemporary art galleries, which meant that practicing artists did not have a space to exhibit and produce work. This has now changed. Al Mahattah Gallery in Ramallah, Palestine, is an independent voluntary youth initiative, set up by a group of seven artists. This initiative aims to create the first professional visual arts exhibition space within the city. They offer opportunities to local as well as international artists to engage with local Palestinian residents through exhibiting work within a contemporary and professional framework. 

Gallery director’s profiles:

      • Bashar Hroub (Hebron) – painter / art teacher / graphic designer
      • Hafez Omar (Tulkarem) – multimedia artist / graphic designer / art education trainee
      • Rafat Asad (Nablus) – painter / graphic designer
      • Misbah Deeb (Burieg Refugee Camp, Gaza) – curator
      • Monther Joabreh (Bethlehem) – painter / art teacher
      • Mohammad Amous (Jerusalem) – illustrator / graphic designer
      • Abed A Azeez (Yaseen) – administrator

       

The gallery is a 650m2 space in the centre of the city, and currently offers a permanent exhibition hall, video presentation area, cafeteria, bookshop and accommodation for two resident artists (which is attached to a workshop). Hroub, Omar, Asad, Deeb and Joabreh each contributed financially to the project without the aid of a funding or supporting organization. Together, they collected approximately $7,000 to build the project, and undertook a majority of the building work themselves to save finances.

The word Al Mahatta means ‘station’ in Arabic, which is symbolic of the different directors from different backgrounds with different stories. Hafez asserts that the gallery works in two parallel ways in order to improve the arts. Firstly, they wish to enrich the art movement by providing Palestinian artists and institutes with a professional space to exhibit their work, whilst giving the Palestinian community a variety of art from both local and international levels. Secondly, they want to provide a platform for Palestinian art at an international level by continuously providing current artists with innovative projects and ideas.

Hafez describes the gallery’s development as a five-stage process. Originally, each member had a concept of their own and scheme to the development of the gallery. For example, Asad consulted other friends about establishing a professional art space that could house paintings, sculptures, and installations, as there was no other place similar in Palestine. Hroub and Joabreh were more inclined to develop a space in which art works are produced, such as artist’s studios. Hafez on the other hand became less concerned with the facility and more concerned with the concept of the space and how it becomes appropriate to its surroundings. Notions of how the gallery will function within a society with deeply rooted political issues can be complex, and Hafez argued how and what would be added to society on a behavioral level that may lift the arts and culture scene in Palestine. 

After their initial meeting, the group agreed that they were not satisfied with the way artist were dealt with and the general situation of the arts in Palestine. This led to the second stage, which consisted of approximately 100 meetings within six months. Through discussing the identity of the project, the goals that they wanted to achieve and the practicalities of making it materialize, it gradually became clearer to the group what was wanted.

The third stage was to implement their plans physically, which began with searching for a suitable space, which would be large enough to include the gallery, workshop, and a small residency. After two months of searching in the city they interestingly found a new building with a parking space underneath it. However due to a major architectural default (humorously, cars could not enter or exit) the owner built walls around it, making a 650m2 empty space available for rent.

The fourth stage was to utilize the plot using minimum finances. Undertaking most of the work themselves, they still had to pay for materials and extra workers, and subsequently sold their own paintings, which added to the money they had pooled together.

In March 2008, they held their first workshop with artist Emilio Lopez Menchero, in cooperation Municipality of Ramallah City and the Palestinian Bilge Cultural Exchange Project called ‘Masarat’. Fifteen young Palestinian artists participated in the workshop, and as a result exhibited their work within the gallery space. The team was incredibly pleased with the result, and was quoted in the local media as being one of the highest quality exhibitions of the year so far. Hafez maintains that at least 300 people attended the event, with the majority of the attendees never having been to an exhibition before. Hafez describes the fifth stage as an on-going process – they still require a lot of equipment, such as a professional lighting and sound system.

Unfortunately, due to the difficult financial situation in Palestine, the gallery has found it difficult to gain financial support from official cultural organizations. However, they gain some financial support from Cultural NGO’s – such as workshop funding and gallery hire. They recently received some funding from a Palestinian telecommunications company called Wataneah, to start a permanent exhibition program, which aims to have regular shows during the entire year.

It is evident that Palestinian art is becoming increasingly prevalent and recognized globally. Famous artists from the region such as Mona Hatoum, Emilli Jaser and Khalil Rabah have all won international awards and currently have works in established museums and galleries. Hafez aspires for all Palestinian artists to reach that level – he emphasizes that if more Palestinian art is reached to an international audience, it will express the creativity and humanity of the Palestinian people, which will eventually draw attention to justice in becoming an independent nation.

On a recent visit to Al Mahatta gallery, Salma Tuqan, of Art Dubai, observed that one of their key aims is to involve the public, to break down barriers of art and put it in the realm of the local community. One recent initiative, for example, involved wandering through the streets with students and introducing the idea of the gallery. Each person was photographed with a sign of ‘Al Mahatta’ written on it and told that on the opening night of the exhibition their photograph would be hanging at the gallery for them to take back with them if they wanted. This active effort to galvanize society and to encouraging greater participation and effectively ownership over the space is truly refreshing.

Western cultural policy makers such as Richard Sandell, question the position that museums and galleries obtain within the active process of social inclusion. He argues that galleries and museums are often products of the state and, more recently have tried to include all groups of society. In Al Mahatta’s case, even though there is little state funding for the gallery, in its initial stages it is evident that they are trying to actively involve the Palestinian citizens to the gallery framework. Eleonora Belfoire, a writer for the International Journal of Cultural Policy, puts forward that galleries often act as agents for social regeneration and try to establish positive connections with surrounding communities - through the organization of projects, as well as training and education. It seems as though this is exactly Al Mahatta’s intention, and although it is still in its primary stage it appears to be flourishing.

Although the political and financial situation in the region has made it difficult for the group to make this dream a reality, slowly they have managed to establish an excellent space to showcase contemporary Palestinian art. As debated in academia, the arts appear to have a responsibility towards diverse and local community integration. Galleries that provide communities with educational and workshop facilities decrease issues of social exclusion and therefore enhance society. This is important for regions with serious political turmoil. Al Mahatta gallery has faced all obstacles so far and succeeded. They have a truly inspirational approach to the arts, and undoubtedly will be become prominent and recognized at an international level.

Image courtesy of Al Mahatta Gallery
© Al Mahatta Gallery

 

Website Design Agency - Webheads Interactive