FACING AL AQABA, A WEST BANK PHOTOGRAPHIC INSTALLATION COMING TO ARLINGTON WEST AT SANTA MONICA PIER IN COLLABORATION WITH VETERANS FOR PEACE, LOS ANGELES Early on December 14th of this year a team of volunteers will gather on the beach on the north side of the Santa Monica Pier. Their mission is to assemble a unique wooden & fabric structure that will be displayed in Santa Monica for three consecutive Sundays, Dec. 14, 21, 28. Within the area will be 35 life size photographic images, printed on fabric and hung from a grid allowing visitors to walk around and amongst the photographs. These images are a representative sampling of the 300 remaining men, women and children of the village of Al Aqaba, located on the Palestinian West Bank. The village is now under threat of extinction with every house in the community under demolition orders from the Israeli Civil Authorities. Maurice Jacobsen, creator of Facing Al Aqaba, explains: In 1967 2000 people lived in the community, today only scattered families remain. The question, of course, has to be asked why, and this is our story. . . . The village wants the international community to know and understand who they are and what the village stands for?to gain an understanding of their day-to-day lives and the conditions under which they live. Theirs is a philosophy of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect. With this as background, the Facing Al Aqaba installation has three main goals and objectives. ? To introduce Santa Monica visitors and residents to the men, women and children of the village through photography. ? To raise the visibility and profile of the village in the eyes of the international community, thus literally enhancing its chance for survival ? To facilitate an environment where visitors have the opportunity to judge for themselves the course of events in Palestine. Our goal is to provide a place in which teaching and learning, not conflict, can be shared. Members of Veterans for Peace along with Maurice Jacobsen, the photojournalist, will be present at all times to answer questions and enter into discussion of the issues at hand. The installation opened at ArtPrize 2013, artprize.org . Curator Ben Mitchell says of the work: ?Jacobsen?s Facing Al Aqaba is sophisticated and deeply intelligent, and his photography and videography is highly accomplished and beautiful. But of far deeper significance, his work is humane, soulful, and tenderly perceptive. Rather than creating a piece of political propaganda about a region long locked in deep and terrible conflict?the easy way out for a lesser artist?he has made a socially insightful and human document about ordinary people in an extraordinary time and place. It is powerful work.? Statement from Veterans for Peace: The peoples of Palestine, Israel and the world deserve to live in peace and harmony. The ultimate goal of Veterans For Peace is to abolish war. In the meantime, we stand ready to assist those Israelis and Palestinians who seek peace and reconciliation. Artwork samples available upon request: maurice.jacobsen@gmail Maurice Jacobsen Biography 2014 Maurice Jacobsen is an independent media producer who has worked throughout the world for the past thirty years. After completing projects produced for PBS (Dialogue, Will Our Children Thank Us?) and Discovery Channel Europe (Expedition 360), he began working in the Middle East with funding from KQED-TV, San Francisco and ITVS on the online documentary: Jerusalem: A Living History. In 2013 he produced the multimedia project Facing Al Aqaba: facing-al-aqaba a photographic essay documenting the men, women and children of this West Bank community of 300. A broadcast documentary titled Encircled was commissioned by Press TV and has recently been completed: https://vimeo/87079373. Currently the photo installation is on tour in Southern California and beginning December 14th will be erected on the beach north of the Santa Monica Pier. Mr. Jacobsen has a BA in Film Production from the University of Denver and has studied at the American Film Institutes Digital Content Lab, Los Angeles where he specialized in the production of online documentary programming. He has taught on the faculties of American University, Washington, DC, The New School for Social Research, New York and The University of Bridgeport. While in The Gaza Strip in 2012 he taught video production to aspiring journalists under a USAid sponsored program coordinated by InterNews. Prior to his work in the Middle East Mr. Jacobsen was a producer with Video Free America, San Francisco where he was involved in the production and editing of projects throughout the world for clients ranging from Cisco Systems to the San Francisco Unified School District. He has also served as Senior Producer with CityTV in Los Angeles for five years and was Director of Program Development for United Cable Television of Los Angeles. He has been the recipient of numerous programming awards including four Emmy nominations in local documentary programming and national first place honors from the National Cable Television Association and the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers in documentary production. ARTIST CONTACT - Maurice Jacobsen: Maurice.jacobsen@gmail - 734 834 6550 - Mobile VETERANS FOR PEACE CONTACT - Kathleen Hernandez: hernandezkathleen@hotmail - 310 339 1770
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 11:56:27 +0000
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