Art and Artists in Dialogue Over Divergent Religions
Sama Alshaibi, assistant professor in the UA's School of Art (Photo courtesy of Marvin Gladney)
Beth Krensky, an assistant professor of art education and the area head of art teaching at the University of Utah (Photo courtesy of Josh Blumental)
The two images are in Sama Alshaibi's Divided Land Series. To the left is "Broken Land" taken from the Ramallah side in the West Bank. To the right is "Divided Self."
Beth Krensky said "Bridge III" is one of the most important pieces for her in the show. The "wood" sticks, made from bronze, each contain the name, date of death and age of a child killed as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.(Photo courtesy of Josh Blumental)
Sama Alshaibi and Beth Krensky come from entirely different religious and cultural backgrounds but, through their art, they explore the similiarities in their lives.
It will not be through continued fighting, walls erected, by shouting over a great divide or through lives lost that the Jews and Muslims of Israel and Palestine will reconcile.
It will be through a creative space, a dialogue and by walking together.
Sama Alshaibi and Beth Krensky, who are of divergent religious and cultural backgrounds, believe that to be true.
Iraq-born Alshaibi and Jewish-American Krensky, educators at The University of Arizona and the University of Utah respectively, will be leading a talk and showcasing their photography and sculptures in an exhibition that opens this weekend.
“One of the questions asked if there is some sort of action that would be more powerful and more meaningful,” said Krensky, an assistant professor of art education and area head of art teaching at the University of Utah.
“But we’re talking about the space between art and activism; we’re talking about the role of art,” she added. “Art provides a free space where anything is possible for things to be envisioned. Once you can envision, then you can move into action, and it may be any sort of action.”
In doing so the intention, both said, is not to present the positive versus the negative stance relative to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but instead to create a space that recognizes the historical contention between the groups while seeking forward-marching humanitarian connections and solutions to the dispute.
“It’s not enough to constantly shout from a hilltop and talk about what I consider to be the injustices of the Palestinians and the Israelis,” said Alshaibi, an assistant professor of art who teaches photography at the UA.
“But when you work with somebody from a different vantage point, you hear their grievances, you must be willing to listen. Things may not be all right in justice, but all injustice is wrong,” she added. “I think it’s a good exhibition and an honest talk from two women who appear to have nothing in common and actually had everything at stake – their futures and the future of their children.”
Alshaibi was born to an Iraqi father and a Palestinian mother and is now a naturalized citizen of the United States. Krensky was born in the United States to Jewish parents. Their discussion, “Beyond Counterstance: Art as Dialogue” will be held Friday at 5 p.m. and the exhibition, “We Make the Road by Walking,” opens with a reception Saturday night.
Alshaibi's scholarly focus has been on art for the use of “individual and community transportation. For decades, she has used art as a medium for examining social issues and to also “create a space for envisioning what is possible.”
She met Alshaibi at the University of Colorado at Boulder while Alshaibi was studying photography and media arts there.
Alshaibi has traveled to the West Bank numerous times annually for the last five years to try to connect with her community and to decipher how her opinions have been shaped. Much of her recent work explores her identity and borders, and her art has been exhibited in various parts of the United States, Central and South America and also in Palestine, South Africa, China and Ireland.
But the dialogue the two artists will have Friday night and through their artwork is the kind of interface some would prefer not happen, Alshaibi said.
“So many people are policing the gate. They don’t want this interaction happening out of fear and because they want to protect their own history and preserve their own identity,” she said.
There may be resistance and there may be oppression but “we’re basically discussing a third way that respects and allows for difference,” Alshaibi said.
“We’re not saying we’re the same. But, as women and as mothers and with so much at stake and hoping for a better future for our children and ourselves, we are daring to imagine a different way of behaving and thinking.”
It’s about asking what can be learned of the other and how can a creative space be created, but one that “the boundaries of history and space” cannot limit?
That’s not to say that the past becomes a nonexistent point of reference, Krensky said.
“The art doesn’t pretend that something didn’t happen,” she said. “Regardless of our positions, we’re creating this open space to look at what is possible.”
et cetera
- What | Beyond Counterstance: Art as Dialogue
- When | April 4 at 5 p.m .
- Where | Art Building, 1031 N. Olive Road, Room 312
- Extra Info |
The dialogue is part of the "Conversations Across Religious Traditions Series." To learn more, call 520-621-1044.
The speaker series is sponsored by The University of Arizona Office of the President, the College of Humanities, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Near Eastern studies department, Arizona Center for Judaic Studies and the UA religious studies program.
The April 4 talk preceeds an art exhibition. "We Make the Road by Walking" is a collaborative exhibit by Sama Alshaibi and Beth Krensky. The exhibit will be held at Dinnerware Artspace, 264 E. Congress Street, and opens April 5 with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m.