Creative Work as a Tool for Solidarity and Peace
OLGA DIEGO, ANJA KRAKOWSKI and TERESA MARTÍN Voces distantes ¡Aquí!, 2009. Courtesy: ARTIFARITI.
ARTIFARITI
3rd International Art Summit in the Liberated Territories of Western Sahara
Tifariti is set in the northern part of Western Sahara. It is literally in the middle of nowhere. In order to get there from the Saharan refugee camps on the other side of the Algerian border, we have to drive for eight hours in a jeep. The journey, which is always defined by the horizon, is over dusty dirt roads whose only signposts are the tracks of other cars, over an endless stony plain. In the distance, at some point during the trip, we can see the wall erected by the Moroccans, the ominous division separating the occupied and liberated territories. As we approach our destination, the landscape becomes a savannah dotted with locust trees, where herds of goats and dromedaries graze freely. Occasionally, we see the tents of Bedouins, nomadic desert shepherds who follow the clouds in search of water.
Surprisingly, this remote, unique and unusual location is the setting of ARTIFARITI, Encuentros Internacionales de Arte en Territorios Liberados del Sáhara Occidental, an admirable proposal for contemporary creation which uses artistic expression as a way of grabbing the attention of civilised countries, in an attempt to give rise to a major artistic centre in this small African village. In the face of the oppression suffered by the Saharan people, which has been left to its own devices, unprotected by the international community, which remains silent about an issue which it seems to think does not exist, culture is emerging as an argument to circulate a message of strength, hope and optimism.
This third edition, which took place in October, featured the contributions of artists from 13 different countries, who have turned what was originally a Utopian idea into a solid hope for the future, which is bound to grow exponentially. There could be few exchange activities which could boast greater intensity and truth than this melting pot of shared experiences. Of the works produced this year, it is worth noting the success of Alonso Gil’s textile prints, in which he has intervened garments of clothing with firm messages on freedom and independence. Several artists have opted for rescuing the Saharan cultural heritage, with traditional recipes which are becoming replaced by new eating habits, as is the case of the book published by the New Yorker Robin Kahn; and the return to popular stories, as can be seen in the Chinese shadow theatre by the Finnish artist Minna Bengs. The Internet, that emblem of our globalised society and the most important of today’s media, is another of the tools chosen by some artists. Antoni Abad has developed megafone, a project which can be followed at his website www.zexe.net, which forms part of a broad visual analysis of excluded minorities; the work by Olga Diego, Anja Krakowski and Teresa Martín used a kite to take photographs of the area around Tifariti, in order to upload the resulting images onto Google Earth, an annulled area which, as far as the Net is concerned, seems not to exist. Nature is another of the motifs which has inspired a great deal of artists, as can be seen in the palm-leaf hut built by Federico Guzmán. Social activism and political issues have also played an important role, as would be expected in such a war-torn area, and were particularly noticeable in many of the pieces produced by Algerian artists.
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