November, 1998:
* Special Events:
-The second annual Palestine Awards for the arts and humanities were announced this month by the head of the awards committee, poet Mahmoud Darwish. The committee was composed also of poet Fadwa Tuqan, and a number of last years winners. The Humanities Award went to poet/translator Dr. Salma Khadra Jayyusi for her pioneering efforts at translating and publishing Arabic & Palestinian literature. The special Jerusalem Award went to Dr. Walid Khalidi, founder and director of the Institute for Palestine Studies, & author of notably All that Remains, documenting Palestinian villages demolished during the Nakba, and Before their Diaspora, a visual history of Palestine & the Palestinians from 1876 to 1948.
The poetry award went to Ahmad Dahbour, music went to young classical
pianist Salim Abboud, visual arts went to Slimane Mansour, the novel award
went exceptionally to Lebanese author Elias Khoury for his novel on the
Nakba Bab el-Shams (Gate of the Sun), the press writing award
went for the second year in a row to a writer from the Al-Ayyam
daily: columnist and former magazine editor Hassan el Batal, cinema to
director Rachid Masharawi, theater to actor/director George Ibrahim of
the Jerusalem Qassaba Theater, and the folklore award went to writer/researcher
Dr. Abdellatif Barghouti. The awards will be presented in a special ceremony
chaired by President Arafat at Najahs Nablus university in December.
-The Spanish consulate in Jerusalem organized a series of activities
in cooperation with local cultural institutions, as part of Spanish culture
week, in El-Bireh, Nablus, & Jerusalem. The activities focused on flamenco
classes for children, bilingual readings of Lorca poems by actress Iman
Aoun, lectures on the Prado museum, and an exhibit of reproductions
of Prado famous paintings.
* Visual Arts:
- Visual artist Sharif Waked held his new exhibit at the Ramallah Ziryab Café & gallery. The works are a visual reflection on the Nakba.
- Ceramist Dina Ghazal held her second solo exhibit at the Ramallah Matall gallery. Her works consist mainly of Islamic art-style potteries and ceramic murals.
- Young painter Abdel-Hadi Yaïsh held his second exhibit of symbolist
paintings at Ramallahs French cultural center.
* Film:
- The Ramallah Goethe Institute organized special screenings of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, accompanied by a 4-member Jazz ensemble: The Ensemble Metropolis Project. The film was shown in El-Bireh and Gaza City.
-The French Cultural centers network screened a number of new French
films at their centers in Nablus, Ramallah, Jerusalem Gaza, and Bethlehem
* Literature:
- Issue # 57 of the literary quarterly edited out of the Sakakini by
poet Mahmoud Darwish is out. It features a comprehensive article by critic
Faycal Darraj on Khalil Sakakini, a new poem by Izzedine Manacerah, articles
on the fall of Safad & Deir Yassin by Mohammed Barout & Dr.
Salma K. Jayyusi, a study by Fawwaz Trabulsi on Palestine in Fayruz's music,
an article on Marwan Qassab Bashi's works, etc.. In addition to book reviews
& regular features.
* Music:
- The French cultural centers network of Palestine organized a series of exceptional concerts of the opera Carmen in Gaza City, Jerusalem and Birzeit. The recitals featured 4 French opera singers (among them Nathalie Espalier, Caroline Dumas & Christian Lara), performing excerpts from the opera accompanied by two local childrens choirs (the Sindbad Childrens choir of Gaza City & the National Conservatorys children choir), and by the -adult- Jerusalem Choir. The singers were accompanied by two pianists, & the show had a Palestinian narrator: Actor/director George Ibrahim, who told the story from a children's point of view. The shows were a great success and drew over-capacity crowds.
- Lebanese-Swiss classic guitarist Jad Ezzkoul gave a series of recitals in Bethlehem, El-Bireh and Jerusalem of Villa Lobos, Piazzola, etc..
- The Ramallah Goethe Institute organized a Jerusalem recital by a German trio composed of French Horn player Radovan Vklatkovic, pianist Nina Tichman , and violinist Ida Bieler. The trio performed a program of Beethoven, Brahms, etc..