- Title: ISRAEL: Israeli Arab artist exhibits his work inside a car showroom
- Date: 29th May 2008
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ISRAELI-ARAB ARTIST SALMAN MOLLA SAYING: "Usually, the normal viewer (of art work), or the group of artists, are typically the audience for an art exhibition -- friends, people with a background in art or literature, they come to an exhibition. But, having the exhibition in a car showroom, or a commercial place, varies the audience and invites a differ
- Embargoed: 13th June 2008 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel
- Country: Israel
- Reuters ID: LVA6N4BUET2A3OLJ6KZ73G6YFRBD
- Story Text: An art exhibition hosted inside a car-sales showroom in Israel aims to narrow the gap between modern technology and traditional art as well as provide an alternative platform for exhibiting artwork.
Israeli Arab artist Salman Molla collaborated with his long-time friend Kameel Srouji, owner of Srouji Motors, to produce ''Chairs,'' an exhibition spanning 10-years of Molla's art work.
"Usually, the normal viewer (of art work), or the group of artists, are typically the audience for an art exhibition -- friends, people with a background in art or literature, they come to an exhibition. But, having the exhibition in a car showroom, or a commercial place, varies the audience and invites a different kind of audience. If work is not exhibited to audience within the realm of places they frequent then they will not see it," Molla told Reuters Television.
The 53-year-old Palestinian artist started creating stone statues almost 16 years ago. His work highlights elements of Palestinian traditions and culture.
''Chairs'' features statues he created between 1998-2008 and focuses on depicting aspects of Palestinian life. A statue titled ''Coffee Cups'' is described by the artist as a symbol of Palestinian traditional gatherings with family and friends. Another statue, titled ''Acre'', symbolises agriculture and life for Palestinian farmers.
Molla, himself a villager from Yarka in the Galilee, says there is increased institutionalised racism against Israeli Arabs and a lack of support for Arab artists in Israel, adding that this is one of the reasons he sought an alternative platform to show his work to the public.
''Cars are about speed, (they can be) perceived with a bit of pessimism because they can cause car accidents and also some cars can only be purchased by rich people. But art work is silent and calm so there is a contradiction and by exhibiting the art work next to the cars we tried to narrow the gap between the two opposites," Molla said.
Molla's friendship with Srouji goes back 25-years and they consider this exhibition a dream come true.
''The idea evolved (to exhibit work in the car showroom) because of the lack of support for artists in the Arab community (in Israel). There aren't enough galleries to feature work by all the artists," the owner of Srouji Motors Kameel Srouji told Reuters Television.
Salman Molla's statues will be on exhibition at Srouji Motors showroom until the end of July. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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