Unseen Art Scene (mirror)

Néjib Belkhodja died in May 2007  but his art is alive and shapes the modern landscape of today's Tunisia. Art defines a Nation - Ben Ali stopped Tunisia's definition but the man behind the creation of the Nation was Néjib Belkhodja who created the Tunis School of Art in the 1960's - it was his vision of the ideal world and the creation of the artistic village with the support of his friend, the architect Slah Smaoui, and together they created the village of "Ken", which translates to Once Upon A Time | http://www.villageken.com.tn/  -  this is the best kept secret in North Africa! This is merely a whisper being sent out to the world about the genius of the late, great Néjib Belkhodja. He lived amongst us for seventy-four years and consumed life and lived like so few. He had integrity, something that is lacking in the world today. He set such high standards for himself and others around him. He was the man to teach the world about the power of art and the way in w

Demantelment 1992 Demantelment | 1992 This is one of series of images that Néjib produced on the theme of Demantlement. The home he lived in with Najet, his wife, is full of books, especially revolutionary poetry. If I may be so bold I thought that this painting would go extremely well with a poet that Néjib Belkhodja had an interest in. The poet is from Tunisia and died at 23, his name is Abu-l-Qasim Al-Shabbi. His book of poetry, Songs of Life, has recently been translated into English and I would like to share with you a poem he wrote about Tunisia. I'm sure that this poem sounds much better in Arabic but this is the English version. Beautiful Tunisia I do not weep because night is a tyrant nor because destruction reigns in the countryside. I weep instead for the heavy calamity now afflicting us without relief. Whenever a leader rises in the country, vigorous with reform, yearning to awaken his people, they garb him in a shirt that curbs his intent. They stifle his

I arrived in Tunis at 23.30 on June 12th 2007 and was met by Najet, Néjib's wife and a beautiful young woman called Nadia. The energy around the house was surprisingly superb. So much love for this brilliant man. I was and still am shocked that the western world knows so little about the history and works of this great man. Allow me to introduce you to him via his Masterpiece about the first Iraqi War in 1991, Le ciel était rouge, 91. The red sky. Najet told me that whilst Néjib was painting this Masterpeice he had a nightmare. He spent months trying to work out the right colour for the central space. He tried out numerous ideas and the nightmare was that if the central space was any other colour than white then the walls would crumble and fall. So sensitive was Néjib about his art that he would wake in morning and tell Najet he was busy opening doors and later in the evening he told her he was busy closing windows. He really was the door opener and the window closer an

Néjib Belkhodja was born in 1933 in the Capital, Tunis. He was the son of a Dutch Opera singer who had performed at the Paris Opera House and a Tunisian aristocrat. The family lived in the Medina in Tunis, which at the time was the heartbeat of all North African cities. The Medina, for those that don't know, is a walled city within a city. It was where the rich and influencial used to live. The Most Famous Median is Deir El Medina and here are some images. His father died when he was 3 years old, leaving his blonde-haired Dutch mother with 2 children Néjib and sister, in the centre of Tunisia. His mother had spoken extensively with her husband about bring their children up as Muslims in Tunisia. They had spoken about what school the children would attend and what careers they might have. Although Néjib mother was from a good family back in Holland she kept to her word and brought her children up in Tunisia. Later she converted to Islam. Whilst growing up with his siste

Marc Ona Essangui | Environmentalist  from Gabon Gabon – Media stigmatisation campaign against human rights defender Marc Ona Essangui Posted on 2010/12/15 Source:  FrontLineDefenders Please take action on behalf of Gabonese human rights defender Marc Ona Essangui.  Copy the enclosed letter and send it to the address provided.  Thank you for taking action on behalf of human rights defender Marc Ona Essangui. LETTER Target adresses:   Mr Ali-Ben Bongo Ondimba President Office of the President, BP 546 Libreville Gabon LETTER:  Your Excellency, During the last several weeks, human rights defender Mr Marc Ona Essangui has been the target of a smear campaign organised by pro government media in Gabon.  The campaign targets him specifically,  because of his support of the trial taking place in France, in relation to properties allegedly unlawfully acquired there by the Gabonese President, the so called "Bien Mal Acquis"(BMA) trial. Marc Ona Essangui is the national coordinator of t

Rather slowly, the buying and selling of art and antiques is going online Source: The Economist - See Article DOES the world need another international art fair? With ARCOmadrid in February, Tefaf in March, Art Basel in June, Frieze in October, Miami in December and a dozen fringe fairs in between, the travel schedule of art and antique dealers has become impossibly busy. The annual circuit is costly, too: dealers have to pay for their booths as well as the cost of travel, shipping and Chardonnay. The VIP (for Viewing in Private) Art Fair, which will open on January 22nd and run for a week, promises to cut costs dramatically for buyers and sellers of contemporary art: it will take place exclusively in the virtual world. VIP was created by James and Jane Cohan, a couple of New York art dealers who teamed up with two internet entrepreneurs three years ago when the art world was about to be hit by recession. At the last count 138 galleries from 30 countries had signed up. They range from

Look around you. You are a champion!

Lucas Ndlovu | The Man Who Rules The Kitchen With Magic In His Head Source: Hotel Resort Insider http://www.hotelresortinsider.com/news_story.php?news_id=480&cat_id=9 If you are a foodie and want to look up some  great African dishes, then you will definitely  come across the name of Lucas Ndlovu. He is  one of the most renowned South African  chefs  and has been honored by the International Chaine de Rotisseurs to be one among the 24  South African chefs. His best known dishes include avocado with ginger, honey and celery, paper-thin ostrich carpaccio, roast quail with bacon rolls, served with  bread sauce, game chips and marula jelly and grilled baby kingklip  rolled in macademia nuts, served with a mango and mampoer sauce.  This man also earns the credit of sharing his dishes with the poor  children. Ndlovu's claims that the secret of him becoming a great chef lies in  the fact that he is a great foodie. This man illuminates Coach House  in Agatha, near Tzaneen, with his pr

Malangatana Ngwenya obituary Leading Mozambican painter and poet who depicted his country's struggle in his work Joe Pollitt guardian.co.uk , Monday 17 January 2011 18.54 GMT Article history Malangatana Ngwenya's Women in Motion (2003), one of his rose-period works The Mozambican painter and poet Malangatana Ngwenya, who has died aged 74 following respiratory complications, was one of Africa's leading contemporary artists, and his work is known round the world. A lifelong Marxist, he depicted the suffering and struggles of a troubled nation, and campaigned for peace. While Ngwenya, meaning crocodile, provided the title of a 2007  documentary film , he was most widely known as Malangatana. Once  Mozambique  had achieved independence and freed itself from conflict, he encouraged its continuing cultural life. A National Art Museum was established in the capital city of Maputo, and the art college Núcleo de Arte became primarily concerned with encouraging young, black artists.

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Egyptian Human Rights Activist Saad Eddin Ibrahim Defies Threats, Arrests to Challenge U.S.-Backed Mubarak Government Source: The Carter Center in the USA http://www.cartercenter.org/peace/human_rights/defenders/news/democ_now1011ibrahim.html The following is a transcript of the Democracy Now! interview with Saad Ibrahim. In Egypt, the regime of President Hosni Mubarak is in the midst of one of the largest crackdowns against public dissent in a decade. Seven journalists have been given prison sentences in recent weeks for criticizing Mubarak's government. More than a thousand activists of the popular opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, languish in prison. Labor organizers involved in a wave of strikes at government-owned factories have been detained. Amid the crackdown, Egyptian police and internal security forces are increasingly being accused of widespread brutality and torture of prisoners. On Sunday, twenty-three independent and opposition daily newspapers refused to publ

Bye, Bye Ben Ali! Bye, Bye Ben Ali! Byebye. Happy Days | The country is free to Create so let us Celebrate! Tunisia was the jewel of the Roman Empire; it is rich in so many resources combined with a high level of literacy. It has a strong income from tourism, oil and olives, wine etc.. Here is a country, if managed correctly, could easily have a far higher standard of living than France. I watched this morning's BBC News with disappointment, not with Tunisia but more with the BBC. They broadcasted such negative information coming out about Tunis and personally, I think this is an irresponsible use of media. The initial damage caused in the Capital, Tunis is no worse than that caused after the Student riots in London, a few week ago and the reporting on those events were all censored and twisted towards the benefit of the Police. The violence has escalated and hopefully there will be a minimum of casualties and deaths. It seems more and more the BBC is taking a far right political p

The message shared by Malangatana in 2007 was - "The world is so selfish, remind yourselves at all times, what is your intent? - The world belongs to us." Source: YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gpa2WuCGAU&feature=related

Fateh al-Moudarres, Title Unknown, 1962. Mixed media on canvas,  69.8 x 99.7 cm © Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. Source: Art Daily http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=42548 DOHA.-   Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art  revealed the details of the three exhibitions it will present when it opens to the public on December 30, 2010. Historic works of Arab modernism and a multitude of new works commissioned by Mathaf will be on view at two sites in Doha, Qatar. The new Museum will open its 5,500-square-meter (59,000-square-foot) building with Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art. This will be the first in an ongoing series of exhibitions that will survey Mathaf’s unparalleled collection of more than 6,000 works representing major trends and sites of production of modern Arab art, spanning the 1840s to the present. Sajjil, an Arabic word meaning the act of recording, will feature paintings and sculptures by more than 100 artists, representing pivotal moments in the development o