French Institute
Damas street
- Espace des Lettres
Beirut
Lebanon
Project Presentation: 077
Friday, November 9, 2018 - 16:00 to 16:30
Zoukak Sidewalks 2018 - The Festival presents
077
Project Presentation
Wael Kodeih and Randa Mirza
Friday 9 November 2018 at 4:00 p.m. at the French Institute of Beirut
Entrance by Invitation only
As a part of Focus Liban, artists residing in Lebanon are invited to present their projects to a public of local and international curators. Wael Kodeih and Randa Mirza will be speaking about their project : 077
Synopsis:
"3amil 77" is an audio video concert by the band "Love and Revenge" that mixes, cuts and rearranges old Arab songs and movies using contemporary electronic aesthetic. The recurrent theme is hybridity; the mixture of two cultures and identities.
3amil 77 is a tribute to the singers, dancers, actresses and actors of the Arab world of a bygone era. We draw on the precious heritage of cinema and Arabic music while focusing mainly on artists who have not experienced the notoriety of the stars of the golden age of Arab music and cinema production. These artists are often from countries where music and film production has not had the opportunity to develop as in Egypt or Lebanon: Kuwait (Hussein Jasem – Mostafa Ahmad), Yemen (Mohamad Saleh Hazani), Sudan (Makarem Bachir, Said Khalifa), Saudi Arabia (Ibtisam Lotfi – Etab – Touha – Talal Midah), Algeria (Dahmane Al Harachi, Mohamad El Anka), Mauritania (Karmi Bent Aba, Houria), Morocco (Haja Hamdaouia - Fatna Bent Al Housine) ...
The main goal is to introduce these forgotten artists to a new audience, arabic speaking or not, to a new generation. We revisit the rhythm, the structure, the sounds of the piece and we add our own sound elements: Drum machine (Wael Kodeih), Electric Oud (Mehdi Hadab), synthesizers (Julien Perraudeau), while movie sequences are edited in real time to construct meaning. (Randa Mirza)
The guiding thread of the performance is the Hybridity, one of the most recurrent concepts in postcolonial cultural criticism. Hybridity represents a constant process of translation and interpenetration between cultures and identities. It also signifies the inherently transgressive potential of the colonial subject in the face of the expression of Colonial power.
This contrasts any essentialist claims for the inherent authenticity or purity of cultures which, when inscribed in the naturalistic sign of symbolic consciousness frequently become political arguments for the hierarchy of powerful cultures.
Credits
Conception: Randa Mirza (La Mirza) et Wael Koudaih (Rayess Bek)
Music
Machines: Wael Koudaih (Rayess Bek)
Oud Electrique: Mehdi Haddab
Claviers: Julien Perraudeau
Video Composition: Randa Mirza (La Mirza)
Sound Engineer: Ludovic Joyeux
Light Designer: Rima Ben Brahim
Artist's Biography
Randa Mirza is a visual artist, born in Beirut, in 1978. She works mainly with photography and video. Her practice is related to identity with a focus on gender studies and postcolonial discourses. Mirza has received numerous prizes, including the NO LIMIT award at Les Rencontres Photographiques d’Arles (2006).
Wael Kodeih is an author, composer, and interpreter, who has released several albums and performed concerts worldwide. He participates in many residence programs in creative writing in Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, where he gets the chance to composed music with artists such as Rodolphe Burger, Frank Fitzpatrick, Miles Copeland, Myriam Marzouki (theater) and Nicolas Stemann (theater)
Zoukak Sidewalks – The festival 2018 is supported by: Drosos Foundation, AFAC – Arab Fund for Art and Culture, the Sundance Institute, the Goethe Institute, the British Council, the French Institute – Paris, the French Institute – Lebanon, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, Beirut Office, Salon Du Livre Francophone.
Event Location:
Event Category:
Sidewalks
