Hala Muhanna - Art for Change

JEFF HARRIS Portraits of a life

2012-01-05T03:47:00.000-08:00

In an effort to record the year of his life leading up to the millennium, Jeff Harris began a project of taking a self-portrait each day and then posting the results on his website. The project, which began long before the widespread popularity of blogging, Facebook and Flickr, allowed viewers to follow one photographer along on his adventures. This year, Harris embarks on year fourteen of

Graffiti in Egypt After Jan 25

2011-11-21T01:56:00.000-08:00

Ma'Claim in Alexandria This Mural depicts revolutionary fists and the victory sign. Each Frame is different, so the finished piece will be an animation in the Internet. Just like the revolution itself takes advantage of the possibilities of new media and communications. Cairo by Kaizer Reboot Revolution, Cairo Alexandria Alexandria Alexandria I found those amazing Graffiti pics

Art & Poetry Exhibition 2011

2011-10-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

A painting I did based on Syrian poet Barakat Latif's poem "The Rain", for the "Art & Poetry" collective exhibition that was part of the "Caravan of Poetry and Music 2011" project, organised by COSV (Italy), Al Makan Art Association (Syria) and Baghdad Café Cultural Society (Sweden). The painting was showcased in a collective exhibition in Mustafa Ali Gallery & Art Foundation in Damascus.

Jane Perkins Proves One Man’s Junk Is Indeed Another’s Treasure

2011-08-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

See original article on odditycentral.com British artist Jane Perkins creates beautiful works of art using everyday objects like marbles, toys or buttons picked up from recycling centers, second-hand shops and junkyards. Jane Perkins worked as a nurse for 17 years, in a London hospital, before she decided to explore her artistic talents and got a degree in textiles in 2006. For her

RecyclArt - Inspiration to Feed your Recycling Mind :)

2011-07-09T05:52:00.000-07:00

Recyclart a great website that showcases products that are made from recycling, reusing, upcycling, etc. People can send photos of their own recycled artworks to show on the website. There are a lot of creative ideas and nice tips :)Here are some really great ones: Vinyl Clock License plate bowls origami paper bowls Book Art Teabags artwork

So u say books are only good for reading?

2011-06-29T02:36:00.000-07:00

Check out my short clip about alternative uses of books these days :) There have been several campaigns in Damascus to promote reading. One successful example is JCI's "Book Basket" JCI (Junior Chamber International) is organizing a "Book Basket" event in Damascus. You can exchange, for free, your old books for "new" ones bought in by other bookworms like yourself. The books cover a variety of

For a Greener web

2011-06-23T01:53:00.000-07:00

While surfing the net I found this very "green" website: Eco-Safe that is using web technologies to help the environment. The eco safe team is developing new free tools for people to use in an effort to make the web a little more environmentally friendly. I got myself a "merit badge" that gives the guests of my blog alternatives to printing pages. It is a very simple and practical feature,

8goals-8walls

2011-06-02T02:55:00.000-07:00

8goals-8walls is an international art project that is build around the eight millennium goals. In the Netherlands, a selection of seven artists and one artist duo is made. Each one of these artists illustrate one of the eight millennium goals. The artist are entirely free to project their own vision on that particular millennium goal. This allows them to explore to goals critically so

The Rebirth of a Nation Photo Exhibit

2011-05-25T01:31:00.000-07:00

Photo by Amy Elshaarawy The Rebirth of a Nation, an exhibition currently being held at the Hellenic American Union in Athens, displays photographs taken by many young artists during the January 25 Revolution in Egypt The photographs illustrate the various stages of the revolution and highlight the rise of positive feelings due to psychological and moral gains achieved and the hope that

Facebook Pictures and Documents found after the April 27, 2011 Tornadoes

2011-05-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

I found this very touching initiative on the Photo Art gallery blog: In the aftermath of the devestating 27/4/11 tornados in America, a facebook page has been set up to help victims get their precious photos and belongings back. The page simply asks "please post pictures or pictures of other items that were found as debris after the 4/27/2011 tornadoes. Please leave a brief description of

"Fighting Hunger" painting to support World Food Programme (WFP)

2011-04-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

As the United Nations World Food Programme’s Celebrity Partner, and in a new step to support the Programme’s projects, Syrian artist Sara Shamma has created a large scale oil painting inspired by the suffering of the vulnerable refugees and hungry people and the response of WFP; the painting is entitled “Fighting Hunger”, and will be sold in one of the top world auction houses in the

ART for JAPAN

2011-04-06T16:10:00.000-07:00

As I was surfing the internet I found this great initiative to raise funds for the Japanese disaster relief efforts. You can see the original article HERE On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9 Earthquake hit Japan. The Earthquake and the subsequent Tsunami caused wide spread damage to the country and many people lost their lives. As the shocking events unfolded, artists and designers from across

Syrian Artist Offers Items Designed by Her to Raise Funds for (WFP)

2011-02-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

Syrian artist Sara Shamma offered some items designed by her to be sold as fundraising for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) during Shamma’s solo exhibition “Birth” that took place earlier this year in “Art House” in Damascus in January 2011. The items carrying some paintings’ pictures of the exhibition consist of a collection of Posters, Mugs and T-shirt, in addition to

Sound Treatment

2011-01-15T13:52:00.000-08:00

By Abdulhamid Qabbani Photos Adel Samara A doctor is pioneering the use of music therapy to treat a variety of disabilities and ailments in Syria. "He always carries his recorder with him," Maha Kaso, Mayas's mother, explained later. "He got it from his music therapist, who says the vibration helps him speak by stimulating his vocal cords." Kaso came across music therapy by chance when

Muslim Self-Portraits

2010-12-10T04:40:00.000-08:00

As I was browsing the internet I came across this interesting photo art project "Muslim Self Portraits" by artist Todd Drake, who asked American Muslims in North Carolina to create self-portraits in response to the stereotyping of Muslims based on the idea that it is a human nature to fear the unknown, so this project aimed at using art to bridge the gaps and create a better understanding of

Coffee with Solitude

2010-11-30T05:26:00.000-08:00

Scrawling Beauty

2010-11-21T01:56:00.000-08:00

By Nadia Muhanna Photos Fadi al-Hamwi A series of workshops are helping to bolster graffiti in Syria as an art form with a distinctly Arab flair. "I'll tell you a secret," Abeer Boukhari said. "I don't like graffiti." This statement was particularly remarkable because Boukhari is the founder of All Art Now, the first and only art gallery in Syria to promote graffiti among other alternative

"Jackie Kazarian" painting workshop

2010-10-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

Jackie Kazarian I participated in a four-day painting workshop with American artist Jackie Kazarian, that was organized by the the American embassy and the Fine Arts Museum in Damascus. Kazarian introduced watercolor and gouache painting techniques to us through focusing on portrait painting. Alaa Sharabi's work Wissam Shaabi's work A detail from my work

FROM THE SOURCE Environmental Media Training Workshop

2010-09-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

I participated in a five-day environmental media training workshop, that was organized by the Netherlands Institute for Academic Studies in Damascus for print journalists, photographers and filmmakers. Our tutors were Francesca de Chatel, print journalist, and editor, who published several articles and a book on environmental issues in Syria and the middle east and Joshka Wessels, an

Q&A with Journalist and Photographer Doha Hassan

2010-09-09T04:11:00.000-07:00

By nadiamuhanna I sat down with journalist Doha Hassan to discuss what motivated her to create an exhibition on drought victims at Cham Mahel art café in the Old City of Damascus. How did the idea of the exhibition come about? According to UN statistics, 60,000 families from the north-east have been forced [since 2006] by the ongoing drought to migrate to urban areas. A journalist friend from

Unshackled Expression

2010-07-31T11:57:00.000-07:00

By Rasha Faek (Syria Today Magazine) Photos Adel Samara The father of a man sentenced to death stood proudly before his son's artwork."These copper swords were made by Zuhair, my son" the old man said, continuing on to explain in detail the methods and materials his imprisoned son used to create his sculptures. Zuhair was one of 22 inmates who displayed his art during a day-long exhibition on

Theatre as Therapy

2010-07-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

By Siwar Demashkieh (Syria Today Magazine) Photo Omar Sanadiki On a small stage at the Al-Mutanabi Primary School in the Damascus suburb of Dummar, a young girl rehearses a brief sketch she and her fellow classmates have written. "Baba, why do you treat me differently to my brothers when I am a better student?" the girl asks. The young boy playing the father puffs up his chest: "Because you're a

SO-OWE Online Exhibition

2010-06-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

An online exhibition on corporate social responsibility! Very interesting artworks dealing with serious issues about the negative role some European companies play in the lives of people and the environment! It's an audio-visual art experience that stands up for people's right to a safe living and working environment! Visit the website to see the exhibition and sign the petition to hold companies

"Trample" 2009 by Palestinian artist Rajie Cook

2010-06-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

"Accustomed to trample on the rights of others, you have lost the genius of your own independence." Abraham Lincoln

Homes for the Disembodied by Palestinian artist Mary tuma

2010-05-24T01:40:00.000-07:00

I read a very interesting article by Maymanah farhat about Palestinian artist Mary Tuma's artworks, Here are some exerpts from it about Tuma's impressive work "Homes for the Disembodied" a 2003 installation: The difficult living conditions of the Israeli occupation of Palestine are also conveyed in Tuma’s installation piece, Homes for the Disembodied. In Homes for the Disembodied Tuma folded

Palestinian artist Rajie Cook on Gaza

2010-05-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

Guernica in Gaza 2008

Shantout Atelier's painting workshop

2010-04-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

"Painting is an art, and the art in its whole is not a vain objets creation which get lost in the void, but a power which has a goal and must serve to the evolution and to the refinement of the human soul, to the moving of the Triangle. It is the language which speaks to the soul, in its proper form, of things which are the daily bread of the soul and which it can receive only under this form."

Documentary making workshop by Rob Rombout

2010-04-16T04:54:00.000-07:00