You are not alone!

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting imposition of self-isolation, the Penticton Art Gallery, in partnership with the Syria.art Association (Nice/Berlin) and the online Cyrrus Gallery, invited artists from across the globe to participate in an unprecedented art exhibition entitled, You Are Not Alone. Like a message in a bottle, we sent out a call to artists working in all media, to submit works which would serve as a testament to our resiliency, creativity, and collective humanity in face of these extraordinary times. Visit the website here.

Humam Alsalim + Paul Crawford, Curators

We hoped this exhibition would not only celebrate the power of art, but will serve as a celebration of our diversity, culture, and be an important reminder, that regardless of where we live on this planet, we are not alone. For the artists whose work is represented, this was their opportunity to reach out to a global audience and share their voice and story while celebrating the beauty and creativity they have brought into this world through their art. Now more than ever we need to come together to celebrate our collective humanity. No one is immune to this pandemic and we hope this will help us get through this time by allowing us to share our stories, celebrate our diversity, mourn our losses, and heal as a planet.

These works will be kept as an archive to serve as a time capsule, a permanent document of this moment in our history. The collection will be made available for loan to other galleries and museums across the globe. If you would be interested in hosting this exhibition, please contact us to make arrangements for hosting this exhibition.

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Future exhibition dates are in the works for 2021 in Berlin and France with additional opportunities also being pursued. Thanks to Humam Alsalim, a permanent online exhibition will also remain as a lasting legacy of this project and the resulting exhibitions. Thank you to all the artists who submitted works and lent their voices to this project and we wish you all good health and hope that your families and communities remain safe during this global crisis. 

You are not alone ! International Call for Artists

During this time of self isolation, the Penticton Art Gallery (Penticton, B.C., Canada) in partnership with the Syria.art association (Nice/Berlin), invites artists from across the globe to participate in an unprecedented art exhibition entitled, You Are Not Alone.

Like a message in a bottle, we are sending out into the world this call to artists working in any and all media, to serve as a testament of our resiliency, creativity, and our collective humanity in the face of these extraordinary times. We hope this exhibition will not only celebrate the power of art, but will serve as a poignant testament and celebration of our diversity, culture, and an important reminder, that regardless of where we live on this planet, we are not alone.

In an age where our society was already becoming increasingly insular, the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic serves to only isolate us even more. In the spirit of the penpal and mail art movement, this exhibition will create a permanent and physical document of our existence in this unprecedented moment in history.

This is your opportunity to reach out to a global audience and share your story and celebrate the beauty and creativity you have brought into this world through your art and by your existence. More now than ever, we need to come together to celebrate our collective humanity in all its diversity of colours, shapes, and sounds.

As part of this project, one can connect and share their art with a global network of artists. Our hope is that through the act of sharing, deep, rich, and meaningful connections will develop that will not only bring us together but may help build bridges of friendship and understanding. No one is immune to this pandemic and we hope this will help us to get through this time by allowing us to share our stories, celebrate our diversity, mourn our losses, and heal as a planet.

Submission Information:

Submission of physical works are to be no larger than 11” x 14″
All the 2D works will be matted and stored in crystal clear bags
3D works will be dealt with on an individual basis
Video and audio are also welcome and will be complied online.

Closing date: 01.July 2020 (This date might change if the pandemic lasted longer)

Phyiscal works can be sent to:
Canada:
Paul Crawford c/o The Penticton Art Gallery
199 Marina Way
Penticton, British Columbia
V2A 1H5 Canada
Email: curator@pentictonartgallery.com

Germany:
Houmam Alsaleim
Fischerinsel 4
10179 Berlin
Germany
Email: Syria-art@outlook.com

France:
Khaled Youssef
590 avenue de la Paix
06190 Roquebrune-Cap-Martin
France
Email: asso.syria.art@hotmail.com
* All submissions will be fully documented and uploaded to a virtual exhibition

Digital submissions, including audio and video, can be sent to:

Humam Alsalim
Email: Syria-art@outlook.com

In addition to the online exhibition which will include all the works, a curated and selected version of the works will be included in a physical exhibition at the Penticton Art Gallery (September 2020 as a first plan),the exhibition will hopefully travel to europe to multiple venues. They will also remain as a permanent online exhibition that will be curated and built based on the artworks submitted.

Due to the nature of the exhibition, the works will not be returned. They will be kept as an archive, a time capsule, a document of this moment in our cultural history, by the Penticton Art Gallery. The collection will be made available for loan to other galleries and museums across the globe.

With each submission please include the following information:

Artist Name:
Country:
Contact information:
Website:
Brief Statement:
Brief Biography:

For more information please contact:

Humam Alsalim, Founder/Curator at Syria.art and the Cyrrus Online Gallery
Email: Syria-art@outlook.com
Phone: +4917644465896
Web: https://atomic-temporary-49913675.wpcomstaging.com/, https://en.syriaartasso.com/

Paul Crawford Curator Penticton Art Gallery
Email: curator@pentictonartgallery.com
Phone: (250) 493-2928
Web: www.pentictonartgallery.com

We thank you all for your time and consideration. Due to the nature of this exhibition, and the fact we are all volunteering our time and creative energy, we are unable to pay artist fees. In the spirit of the mail art movement we are organizing this exhibition to serve as a collective affirmation of our creative resilience in light of our shared experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. That being said should there be some opportunities in the future for revenue to be generated from this project, the revenue will be shared amongst all of the participating artists equally.

We want this to project to be as accessible as possible. We will be creating an online exhibition featuring all the submissions, as well as a physical exhibition that will be easy to transport and display. It will be made available to any museums or galleries interested in hosting this exhibition at a date in the future. Please feel free to reach out and contact Humam Alsalim or Paul Crawford for more information regarding this call for artists, or to make arrangements for hosting this exhibition at your venue.

Thank you all again for your time and consideration of this project and we wish you all good health and hope that you, your family, and community remain safe during this global crises.

Syria – The Garden of History: Calligrapher Khaled Al Saai

Khaled Al Saai has been working on a commissioned work for an exhibition from 21.09.2018 to 11.10.2018 in the Mschatta Hall of the Museum of Islamic Art, Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

From February 2019 onwards Khaled Al Saai’s painting “Syria – The Garden of History” will be exhibited in a major exhibition entitled “Cultural Landscape of Syria – Preservation and Archiving in Times of War”.

Khaled Al Saai uses Arabic calligraphy to express feelings and thoughts. He works in an astonishing range of styles, from subtle classical forms that he often uses for quotes from poetry, to radically inventive compositions in which lettering is fragmented into fantastical, almost pictorial, compositions. On his travels he was inspired by cities, landscapes and architecture, the hustle and bustle of people on the streets and the changing seasons. The letters and words of his works are not arranged in straight lines, but flow densely, detached from one-another, in the imaginary space of the canvas. The interwoven letters follow their own rhythm and combine with breathtaking beauty.

Khaled Al Saai, born in 1970 in Homs, Syria, grew up with painting, music and calligraphy. At eighteen, he had already made a name for himself as a calligrapher. After graduating from the University of Damascus, he became an internationally recognized master of Arabic calligraphy. Khaled Al Saai has participated in many international art competitions and has had numerous solo exhibitions in Europe and Middle Eastern countries.

More about the calligraphic artwork by Khaled Al Saai:

“Syria – The Garden of History” tells the story of Syria in different ways. Khaled Al Saai used photographs of the country of Syria and involved art of calligraphy, as the main structure of the painting. There are words or/and lines of poetry around each city to add another level to the paining.

An example: the story starts from the right with Damascus city, the name of the city is written in that space, surrounded with major key marks of this city, but the main structure of the city is based on one letter, which is (sh, ش ) that this letter has many metaphorical interpretations, which represents sun or orient and light, then the lines or surrounding words are a poem about Damascus, in the same space of Damascus there are over than 40 photos collaged, to give the whole dimensions of the city.

So Damascus is an example, but the main structure of the painting are letters and words for the 14 major Syrian cities, and each one has its unique story, as Hasaka حسكة (the city of early watering system, the city of old civilisations, etc), Latakia لاذقية (the city of methodology and early alphabet, the sailing center etc), Aleppo, حلب (the capital of Alhamdaneen state ,the city of Almutanabbi the greatest Arab poet ever, the sense of Arabic music etc).

Further information at https://www.freunde-islamische-kunst-pergamonmuseum.de/