26 Oct 2024
© Laura Peh
The city of Tunis evokes a palpable sense of a condensed amalgamation of its historic civilisations - felt through the city's Arab-Berber-Ottoman-French influences in its atmosphere, architecture and people. In 1956, the country's first president Habib Bourguiba negotiated a successful end to France's 75-year occupation of Tunisia. Alongside major social reforms and policies, Bourguiba set out to create a unique Tunisian cultural identity which fused ethnic, racial and religious differences. Bourguiba chose to focus on Islamic and Arab customs - resulting in Muslims, primarily of Arab descent, making up 99 percent of Tunisia's 12.3 million population today. As a result of this, Bourguiba's gaze towards the Mediterranean in contrary to the African subcontinent, and perhaps the fact that Tunisia is the only country on the African continent that does not share borders with a Sub-Saharan country, Tunisia has widely been perceived as having fewer ties with traditional African ethnic ideals than the continent's other countries; and having seemingly integrated into society the notion of being "white and Arab, with European aspirations". [1] [2] [4]
Jaou Tunis is a month-long contemporary art festival-biennial initiated in 2013 by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation, in partnership with numerous supporters, institutions and cultural venues across the city - and since 2022, co-organised with the French Institute of Tunisia. A befitting name, "Jaou" (جو) in Arabic can be figuratively translated to "atmosphere", "ambiance" or "mood". In essence, the vision of Jaou Tunis since its inception has been to transform the city of Tunis and invigorate life through addressing the urgency of social, political and cultural issues that are in the air, in a manner that is joyful and united. By presenting artists from or engaged with communities in the Global Majority (also known as Global South), Jaou Tunis is committed to challenging the dominance of Western thought and shaped narratives, proposing alternative perspectives and ideas, thus positioning Tunis as a cultural hub of global influence.
In July this year, using the Bruges Triennial as a model, I wrote about how city biennials help accelerate sustainable change in a city through economic development and community development (link to article). The five core principles are:
To present a survey of contemporary art – depending on the objectives, theme and curatorial concept, local and/or international artists are selected and commissioned for a biennial, introducing diverse art practices and ideas to the local population
To establish itself as a key reference point in the history of art – by presenting artists relevant to the biennial theme (often highlighting current issues that the world and society face), biennials have become a source for curators, institutions, art historians and collectors looking out for artists that could contribute to the evolution and transformation of art history and artistic practices
Urban renewal and cultural regeneration – through site-specific and large-scale commissions, forgotten or under-utilised public spaces are reinvigorated to house artworks. These often include warehouses, old train stations, schools, parks, purpose-built spaces and white-box art institutions located in isolated areas
Tourism – while majority of biennials aim to engage the local community, the celebration of the cultural life of a city is the crux that attracts both domestic and international visitors, and helps develop the brand of a city or country
Soft power – a platform to present national ideologies to the world, promoting a country’s artistic language and talent; through the “national pavilion” format - developing deeper relationships between countries and cultivating diplomatic relations with new countries through cultural exchange
In its 7th edition under the theme "Art, Resistance, and the Reconstruction of Futures", Jaou Tunis plays host to 9 exhibitions with more than 60 participating artists (spread around the main city center, including the medina, and the Eastern suburbs of La Goulette and Bhar Lazreg) from 9 October to 9 November 2024. From my personal interpretation, the three main themes are:
Migration
Resilience
Healing
These three themes are interspersed with the sub-themes of:
Solidarity with Arab, MENA & SWANA artists
Racial tensions within Tunisia
Migration
Migration addresses the significance of refuge in the human experience through migrants of ethnic minorities - particularly the racism, discrimination and class tensions that society bestows upon this group, many of whom are undocumented refugees working in low-wage occupations such as construction, domestic help and hospitality.
In “Melita, מלט—mlִt, refuge” at the French Institute of Tunis, French photographer Anne Immelé juxtaposes archival images of ancient voyages of the Phoenicians with original photographs of the gruelling journey that Sub-Saharan Africans undertake today to the island of Malta. As these images become a witness to the hopes and struggles of refugees who risk their lives in search of a better one, it reminds us of the tragic inequalities that exist between developed and developing countries - reiterated by the constant flow of humans that continue to persist in the wake of economic, social and political marginalisation in their home countries.
Installed on a section of the median strip along Avenue Habib Bourguiba, the main boulevard in the center of Tunis, "Unstable Point" is an open-air photography exhibition that is accessible around the clock. Selected by French-British-Algerian curator Taous Dahmani through an open call, twelve young artists from Africa and Southwest Asia present works questioning the notion of cultural heritage, multiple identities and resistance. Marie Douel, scenegrapher of the exhibition, says “Being outdoors allows us to reach a wider public, and to attract people even for ten or fifteen minutes, without necessarily going into a museum for one or two hours, and I think that it also reaches all types of public. That's what I think is really great... It's an open-air exhibition that's free of charge, and allows visitors to discover the photographic work of several artists. And with the scenography, i.e. the way things are displayed, it allows you to see things from further away, to come and rest, to come and sit down, contemplate an image and take your time.”
The northeastern suburb of Bhar Lazreg counts as one of the most underprivileged neighbourhoods in Tunis, and is home to some fifty-thousand people - many of whom are Sub-Saharan Africans. In the outskirts of the city, just a stone's throw away from the chic resort town of La Marsa, the lands of Bhar Lazreg were once used for agriculture and factories, and continues to be treated as wastelands with visible piles of plastic, rubbish and packaging strewn around the area. Following the month-long Tunisian Revolution in 2011, where mass demonstrations occurred due to rising unemployment, food inflation, corruption and poor living conditions, 90% of buildings in Bhar Lazreg were constructed without permits. [3] B7L9 Art Station, located in the heart of Bhar Lazreg, is a purpose-built 1,500 square metre white cube art space, and an initiative of the Kamel Lazaar Foundation. Meant to serve as a project incubator, the building's iconic black-and-white striped exterior was painted with the participation of the neighbourhood's residents, emphasising the link between the Foundation's art projects and community engagement. Quoting the founder Kamel Lazaar: “We have never believed that art should be the pastime of just the privileged, and instead, believe in its power to inspire, effect change, and engage with, a whole cross section of society. B7L9 is situated in an area that is often overlooked, and this deliberate decision has been taken to ensure that we bring together people that rarely engage with one another, but to present them with a platform where they can find common ground. These interactions will hopefully plant the seeds to counter many of the challenges Tunisia faces today. At the very least, they will make for interesting and inspired conversations.”
Reflecting upon issues faced by migrants and foreigners - considered "outsiders" - leads us to think about identity and social issues affecting women born in patriarchal societies as well as LGBTQI+ communities in countries like Tunisia, where homosexuality is criminalised. South African artist Gabrielle Goliath has constructed a series of video installations whereby filler words and sounds of people denied their gender identity or sexual affiliation are pieced together to form a rhythmic composition. In a separate room designed to feel like a reflective sanctuary, four women share personal stories of societal expectations, trauma, survival and healing. Around the corner from B7L9 Art Station, in the seemingly makeshift container of B7L9 BIS (the little sister of B7L9 Art Station), a participatory immersive installation "Wounded Identities" by queer Tunisian artist Bachir Tayachi invites visitors to walk through the sensations, conversations, thought process and eventual healing of a romantic breakup, through three adjoining rooms.
These stories do not simply compel us to be more compassionate about the hardships, violence and pain that we may never experience first-hand, but also celebrate creative ways that survivors find possibilities of living and the power of collective empowerment. The three steps of recognition - understanding - acceptance of the visitor goes in tandem with healing - growth - self-acceptance of the survivor. Through the shared sensitivity and vulnerability of others, we are encouraged to ruminate about the values and laws in today's world; the empathy, reassurance and bonds that makes us human; and the courage of pursuing authenticity in the face of repercussions.
Resilience
Since becoming a republic in 1957, Tunisia has consistently shown support for the people of Palestine, and this sentiment is acknowledged throughout the country. Unlike capitals in Western Europe like London, Paris and Brussels, where activism is explicit and protests take place several times a week, there seems to be little need for advocacy in Tunis. At Jaou Tunis, the focus on Palestinian resistance and their struggle for freedom is shown through three exhibitions under the umbrella theme "Palestine: The Mother of Resistance".
At "The Song Is the Call and the Land Is Calling" in the Entrepôt de la Ville de Tunis, Palestinian artist duo Basel Abbas and Ruanna Abou-Rahme extract material from research initiated during the Arab Spring of 2010 to transform the space into a recollection of memories filled with archival images, electronic music, video projections and poetic texts. Through performance, song and dance, which are interwoven through a lyrical three-channel video installation, the narrative becomes a subtle ballad that transcends the boundaries of past and future, fact and fiction, and found versus created images.
In a visually powerful and intellectually thought-provoking exhibition at the offsite independent space 32BIS, Tunisian artist Dhia Dhibi presents a show "Desensitizing Content". Citing the ongoing situation in Gaza, Dhibi draws upon Herman and Chomsky's seminal 1988 text Manufacturing Consent, illustrating how the passivity of humans today is drawn out through the sensory overwhelm of media consumption including social media, which have also desensitised us. “But what can we do? We are trapped, and for many of us, our only action is to consume these images, made of the bodies and work of real human beings, and share them so that others may consume what has become nothing but content."
French-Palestinian activist and politician Rima Hassan was born in the Neirab Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp near Aleppo in Syria. In "Fragments of Home. An Intimate Tapestry of Refugee Memory in the Digital Age", Hassan captures portraits across eight camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, with each telling an individual story and narrating the collective history of its camp, revealing the persistence of Palestinian identity despite decades of dispossession. As a counterpoint, the AI works offer a contemporary viewpoint that provokes critical thinking about how emerging technology, often manufactured and controlled by the West, influences our thinking and shapes our understanding of human experiences. In her words: "The poignant images we currently see of the Palestinian people are moving, but they depict the death of these people. Yet, these people have been fighting for over 75 years to live, and we need poignant images that also speak of something other than their death—images of their life and survival. In fact, this is a people fighting to live. This is a people with a thousand and one messages to convey, and it is a people that is often essentialized".
It is common to visit exhibitions with preconceived notions or interpreting displays and text as typical acts of political resistance. However, the crux of any exhibition often returns to the transformative power of bringing together different artistic expressions which are translated into a documentation, in which the physical site then serves as a platform for manifestation. These artistic creations are rarely literal, and often come from a place of deep pain and inherent suffering. Where the silenced find their voices through the passing of time, the elite embrace their nostalgic past.
Wounds take time to heal;
and to be enlightened, a spiritual privilege.
Healing
"Our pain mounting the sun like a racing horse. This is a fragment from a poem by Lebanese artist Etel Adnan, L'Apocalypse arabe, published in 1980, which is full of metaphysical and political questions. This exhibition is based on a kind of vertigo, a deep despair, both very intimate and collective, especially in this painful year”. Tunisian curator Camille Lévy Sarfati questions the consciousness and sensitivity of our bodies through sound, music, poetry and video inside the medina of Tunis. Similarly, along the Entrepôt Rue de Palestine in the northern district of La Fayette, the links between aesthetics and politics are explored at "Assembly", where curator Taous Dahmani has constructed a compelling narrative of collective movements in the face of oppression. From Egypt, Tunisia, Iran, Algeria, Palestine and Lebanon, artists delve into the complexities of historic uprisings in the SWANA region, and examine the way in which bodies attempt to gather in and interact with public spaces, expressed through multiple visual languages. It is a quick lesson in modern Arab history that forces us to ponder over the meaning of movement and belonging, and how the willingness to understand a different culture can advance a deeper understanding of listening, empathising with and supporting one another.
Together, these works interweave stories of oppression and dreams of liberation, traversing diverse geographies, histories, and political realities. For a finite period of time, we stand in a space of reflection and symbolism, coming together in solidarity, becoming both an active and passive participant in someone else's life journey and pursuit of healing. The emotions that we feel do not matter more than the moment we chose to be physically and mentally present in the space. Perhaps we may leave with anger and contempt, or maybe with a renewed, enlightened mind. And this is the beauty of art - the subjectivity and poignancy that affects each one of us differently.
To Lina Lazaar, founder of Jaou Tunis, art is a medium of communication and dialogue which would exist whether politics necessitated it or not. I cited in an earlier article that a key measure of success of a biennial is the response and engagement of the local community, which includes accessibility - encompassing but not limited to, financial, intellectual and physical factors. These fundamental blocks create a healthy ecosystem and a knowledge hub for the operations and production of contemporary art. This is what Jaou Tunis has achieved in its 7th edition. By engaging with young artists from the MENA and SWANA regions, having enthusiastic mediators, encouraging a focused discourse around the current global issue of migration, and producing a vibrant public programme, Jaou has leveraged the power of arts and culture to drive societal change within both the arts circle and grassroots communities, in addition to elevating their influence as an organisation in the contemporary art world.
While the city of Tunis feels prosaic, the contemporary art scene is fresh and people are enthusiastic. That being said, I look forward to the next edition of Jaou Tunis and will make an effort to visit other arts festivals recommended to me: Dream City Tunis, Oasis Days in Gabes and Gabes Cinema Fen.
Sources:
1. Mzioudet, Houda, Anti-Blackness and Identity in Tunisia: Q&A with Houda Mzioudet, The TAHRIR Institute for Middle Eastern Policy, 2023. [https://timep.org/2023/03/21/anti-blackness-and-identity-in-tunisia-qa-with-houda-mzioudet/]
2. Bendami, Fatima-Ezzahra, Les Tunisiens noirs défient les interdits, Africa Is A Country, 2021. [https://africasacountry.com/2021/03/les-tunisiens-noirs-defient-les-interdits]
3. Parikh, Shreya, In Search of the Black “Ghetto:” Racial and Spatial Stigma in Tunisia, POMEPS Studies 49: Urban Politics in the Middle East, 2023. [https://pomeps.org/in-search-of-the-black-ghetto-racial-and-spatial-stigma-in-tunisia]
4. Ivorian man who spoke out against racist violence in Tunisia is murdered, The FRANCE 24 Observers, 2018. [https://observers.france24.com/en/20181228-tunisia-ivory-coast-falikou-coulibaly-migration]
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