Mediterranean / An alternative gaze on Mediterranean cooperation
The European Cultural Foundation and Babelmed launched last year a cycle of interviews with artists, creators, cultural operators from the Maghreb and the Middle-east in order to question the dynamics and the relationships created by the Euro-Mediterranean co-operation. This questioning was part of the larger framework of the “Mediterranean Reflection group” implemented by the ECF Now available. The book, an Alternative Gaze, gives valuable insight into cultural issues affecting the Mediterranean region. Contributors include Basma El Husseiny, Sofiane Hadjadj, Adila Laida-Hanieh, curator Nat Muller, and Ghislaine Glasson Deschaumes.
At the ECF we explore areas that play a key role on the cultural map. The Mediterranean is one of them. So, together with regional partners we explored the ins and outs of cultural cooperation. This book is the result. It is available online and as hard copy. More at: http://medreflection.eurocult.org
The book wanted to raise important questions: How do cultural practitioners in the Mediterranean region and their (possible) European partners relate to one another, and what are their expectations? How does their partnership affect the design of artistic projects? What do European cultural practitioners know about contemporary creation in the region?
The belief is that “cross-Mediterranean cooperation is hampered by several factors, not least the cultural and political premises on which cooperative projects are based. European cultural practitioners engaging in cross-Mediterranean cooperation are often poorly equipped ‘politically'. Of course they need practical tools (database, portals, networks, financial means, etc.), but they also need open, challenging debates with their prospective partners in the region.”
For this reason, the ECF and its partners have started a reflection process on the situation of contemporary creation in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, and on the political and artistic challenges this situation creates for cooperative projects with European cultural practitioners. The aim was to create the right conditions for an open, informed debate and facilitate genuine cooperation across the Mediterranean, contributing to the ‘intercultural competence ' of the partners involved. This process followed a strong principle: whereas European experts familiar with the region often talk on behalf of their peers ‘from the other side‘, in this case artists, practitioners and intellectuals from North Africa, the Middle East and Turkey are setting the agenda. They provide their own analysis, ask their questions, give their perspectives on Europe Babelmed contributed to the process by publishing a series of interviews of cultural actors from the South Bank. You can check out the whole dossier at : www.babelmed.net/med_reflection
(28/02/2008)
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The book, an Alternative Gaze, gives valuable insight into cultural issues affecting the Mediterranean region. It also includes part of the interviews realised by Babelmed for the Med Reflection Group.
