From 22nd January to 2nd February 2018 the works of the artist and photographer Nidaa Badwan at the Olmastroni Gallery in Siena
THE EXHIBITION OF NIDAA BADWAN
“100 DAYS OF SOLITUDE” ARRIVES IN SIENA
From 22nd January to 2nd February 2018 the “Cesare Olmastroni” Gallery at Palazzo Patrizi will host the exhibition that has toured and is touring the world: “100 Days of Solitude” by Nidaa Badwan. The exhibition of the emiratin photographer with Palestinian citizenship arrives in Siena thanks to the collaboration between the MOTUS Company and Comune di Siena, with the support ofUnicoop Firenze, Sezione Soci di Siena.
The photographic exhibition, which has already been presented in Jerusalem, Kolding, Berlin, New York, Miami, Dubai, San Marino and in some Italian cities including Ravenna and Forte dei Marmi, was born from the self-imposed exile of the artist. In November 2013 she locked herself in a room, her small and colorful bedroom of only nine square meters, where she remained twenty months to protest against the Fatah-Hamas conflict that has raged for years in Palestine and in the Gaza Strip and against the threats received from Hamas soldiers, who stopped her on the street, during the organization of an artistic event, contesting the failure to use the veil. When Nidaa returned home, after 8 days of imprisonment and violence, exiled herself from her own community, to stay in the only space where she felt free as a woman and as an artist. She self-imposed the exile in order to denounce the condition of isolation and lack of freedom that characterize the daily life of the population, especially the women one, inside a strongly militarized territory, where the exercise of individual rights becomes a challenge.
In the twenty months spent in her room, Nidaa produced the wonderful photographic self-portraits of the exhibition: photos that according to some art critics recall the works of Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, the chiaroscuro by Caravaggio, and the theatrical scenes of Jacques -Louis David.
The exhibition is the start point of the program of cultural events related to the 10th edition of the Move-Off Festival, the international contemporary dance festival, organized by the MOTUS Company and included in the program of the season of the Teatro dei Rinnovati in Siena. The Festival will take place from 31 January to 2 February 2018, hosting companies and young choreographers from all over the world (Germany, United Kingdom, Albania, Korea) and, in the final evening, “DIS-CRIMINE”, the latest production of the MOTUS Company, organized by the Municipality of Siena in collaboration with Fondazione Toscana Spettacolo.
Among the events, also the conference “Rigener-arti” at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, which deals with the theme the role of culture and performing arts in promoting an economic and social renaissance.