Shatat: Arab Diaspora Women Artists

As Salah M. Hassan wrote about the title of the exhibition, "Shatat" in this context means "dispersal" or "scattering" and is the Arab term for Diaspora. The curator is presenting four female artists with Diaspora experience in different parts of the world (see biographical data). In his opinion, their works are translations of cultural differences, which, considering the current debate about the increased "blurring" of geographical and cultural boundaries that has emerged in the course of the globalization process, are particularly relevant. At the core of their work are reflections on the identities of Arab peoples and members of the Arab Diaspora in the West. The work critically examines racism, gender identities, history, and contemporary political conflicts. They tackle the question of what it means to be an Arab in Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, or the USA.

The Artists:

Fatma Charfi
Born 1955 in Tunisia, lives in Bern, Switzerland.

Susan Hefuna
Born 1962 as child of German-Egyptian parents in Germany; lives there.

Emily Jacir
Palestinian artist, lives in New York and Palestine.

Zineb Sedira
Born 1963 in Paris as child of Algerian parents. Lives in London.

The Curator:

Salah M. Hassan
Born in Sudan. Chair of the Department of Art History and Professor for African Studies at Cornell University, Ithaca/ NY. Editor of Nka: Journal of Contemporary African Art. His curatorial projects include: Unpacking Europe (Rotterdam, 2001); Authentic/Ex-Centric: Conceptualism in Contemporary African Art (Venice Biennale 2001).

Salah M. Hassan developed "Shatat" in collaboration with Zineb Sedira.

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