Splendida, Ardente

“Splendida, Ardente” is a collaborative exhibition curated by SYRIA.ART, Art Represent and Galleria Gli Acrobati located in Turin, Italy.

Venue: Galleria Gli Acrobati – via Luigi Ornato, 4 – Turin, Italy
Dates: October 31 – December 23, 2017

The exhibition hosts following Syrian artists:
Yara Said  –  Noor Bahjat Almassri – Manhal Issa (Guest artist)

Art Represent is a social initiative dedicated to empowering artists affected by conflict and social upheaval. Art Represent works to create dialogue and social cohesion through art. By providing a platform for artists who belong to communities living in conflict, Art Represent believes that it gives representation to unheard voices and puts a spotlight on the creative talent of individuals who should be recognised by a global audience.

Art Represent hopes that through art, it can show a more human side to conflict and challenge the negative narratives of conflict regions and the refugees who are forced to flee from them. ( http://www.artrepresent.com/ )

Galleria Gli Acrobati is an art gallery dealing with irregular art, art therapy and artists from various parts of the world, promoting their activity as a means of knowledge and liberation of their inner reality.

Galleria Gli Acrobati is not just an exhibition venue but an atelier, a studio gallery where artists can create freely and where a range of activities such as art therapy workshops and the presentation of artifacts of residents of therapeutic communities will not only show works but the very life of the creative process in its countless manifestations. Particular attention will be given to artists from war zones who will be able to express their talents by going beyond a mere negative narrative of their condition of events victims. ( http://www.gliacrobati.com/ )

SYRIA.ART association, Art Represent and Galleria Gli Acrobati are proud to host “Splendida, Ardente” with works by Noor Bahjat and Yara Said. The exhibition will also feature a video work by Syrian artist Manhal Issa (Guest artist).

The two young artists from Damascus weave together personal experiences and critical thinking, leading us to reflect on the destructive nature of war and the “creative force” it unleashes.

Conflict redefines everything from social dynamics, to power structures, to ethics and gender identities, creating both solidarity and solitude. When living in a place and moment in history where beauty withdraws from the intimate and personal sphere to resist the daily-life that is brutalised by violence, the artistic experience and its introspection could hold the key to a new reading of human relationships and ultimately, our evolution.

Born in Damascus, Syria, in 1991, Noor Bahjat lives and works in the United Arab Emirates, after graduating summa cum laude at the Fine Arts Department of Damascus University. She had taken part to various collective exhibitions and two solo shows in Dubai and Manila (Ayyam gallery). Noor is a visual artist with an expressive style and fascination with cultural symbolism. Her works bring together intimate visions and a critical narrative of the reality she lives in.

Yara Said was born in Syria in 1991 and graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Damascus University in 2014. She had participated in the collective exhibition Feminist Art Fest and was hosted by Amnesty International for a solo exhibition in Amsterdam in 2016. She designed the flag representing the refugees’ team at the Olympics in Rio last year – now in the Victoria and Albert Museum collection and currently displayed at the Stedelijik Museum in Amsterdam. Her style goes beyond abstract and figurative categories, as she creates an anamorphic imaginary in which the visible and invisible interweave one with the other.

Yara and Noor will be in Turin from October 31 to November 4 for a series of gatherings, workshops, and conferences at the Galleria Gli Acrobati.

Text by Baiqu, Founder of Art Represent