Through arts we connect partners in the UK and Palestine developing long-term programmes. We aim to enhance creative exchange and mutual understanding, to open up new horizons for artists and to showcase the best of British and Palestinian arts.
The Points of Departure (PoD) exhibition was a result of a year long residency organised in 2013 by the British Council in partnership with the Delfina Foundation and ArtSchool Palestine. The residency brought together artists and curators to spend eight weeks immersed in each other’s environments, researching the themes of nationalism and identity, history and place.
The participants drew on their experiences to develop thought-provoking installations on the theme of ‘liminality’, exploring identity and how senses of dislocation and disorientation can lead to new perspectives. The early works-in-progress were displayed in Ramallah in February, and the final pieces exhibiting at the Institute of the Contemporary Arts in London in June-July 2013. As part of the Shubbak Festival the exhibition attracted an audience of 40,000.
As one of the leading organisations in managing artist residency programmes in the UK and around the world, our relationship with the Delfina Foundation has contributed to our having succeeded in raising funds, connecting with new partners including the Institute of Contemporary Arts, the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Shubbak Festival, the A.M Qattan Foundation's Mosaic Room and the Caspian Arts Foundation.
We welcome new partners to join us in developing similar programmes. Please contact us for more information.