Artist John Halaka will visit 海角社区 State from March 18th-20th. His visit is included in the Global Engagement Lecture Series on Displaced Persons hosted by the International Institute and the Department of Art.
Halaka's work focuses on the global refugee crisis, Palestinian identity (-ies), and forced displacement.
Halaka will present an artist鈥檚 talk on Thurs., March 19 from 5 鈥 7 p.m. in Fowlkes Auditorium.
鈥淎s a visual artist, I have long been committed to developing an art practice that adheres to the philosophy of 鈥榯he artist as public servant.鈥 For close to three decades, my artwork has investigated personal, social and political conditions of instability caused by physical and psychological dislocation. My recent projects engaged Palestinian refugee communities in a process of speaking of their personal and cultural histories of displacement, resistance and survival. The work I produced as a result of my extended engagement with marginalized refugee communities, offers viewers a poetic space to reflect on our relationships and responsibilities to questions of exile and the persistent struggles of indigenous cultures against colonial oppression. My artwork provides a visual arena for both the participants and the viewers of my images and videos, to meditate on issues of banishment, memory, desire, survival and resistance, as conditions that shape the life experiences of displaced individuals and populations.鈥 鈥 John Halaka, 2018
(Canceled due to COVID-19)