War Culture

Memory / 27 February 2013

 Taken at Aleppo / le Pont Gallery

 

On February 14 ( Valentine day ) was not meeting day between the lovers, was Dead meeting between the 2 Armies , this time we feel its more dangerous for the civilians ,for the first time this war looks more serious , every one is Busy , Army running every direction , and no one smile any more , its look like big movement maybe in the direction to End Aleppo war , after almost 2 weeks from valentine , war become so heavy for city of Aleppo Voice and Bombing , Alarms of the cars working by him self and mix with bombing voices in empty streets , Army and Oppositions trying there best to win , but for sure We as Civilians we do not have any correct information about who will be the winner .
Between all this mass when we have a short time to meet , our daily war news always mix with our good memory of Aleppo City , the proud Aleppians with the Intellectuals and Artist , still in the city ,dreams about the good times and worry to lost our Secular life .

Today Opening of Memory Exhibitions ( 27 February 2013) its not even 1% from what we are Seeing and thinking and talking every day between each others … and its so far from what snappish media try to sell to us and to world …… also very far from the Cultural some foundations and Human organization point of view , who are very busy to push side to kill more other 2 sides ..
Memory Exhibition : its personal story’s if its come together will build story of our City and our Society , and will help to Clear our step for our Future , by talk to each other and works .

Artists Name : Aghyad Shekho , Nayiri Dikranian , Nouh Ammar Hammami , Nathalie Kardjian , Saeed Al Hammad , Nazem Jawesh , Omar Khayata , Hagop Vanesian , Issa Touma , Laure Kurdy , Jalal Mawlawi .

This activity Run with Nouh World

ISSA TOUMA 27 February 2013

  
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.337447949706246.1073741825.285007934950248&type=3

An Artist’s Tale

 

This is some heartily words about An Artist, a friend and most of all a Human, this is a statement about 

Issa Touma.

I met Issa Touma back at early 2008, he left such an impression that I registered into a photography course he tutored in His Gallery, by time, I had the chance to discover more about Issa and we became Friends more than being just tutor/Student.

I thought of writing this now only because NOW the real character of Issa Touma was clear in front of my eyes, as everybody know, Issa is a one daring character, back during 2008 when I met him he used to tell me stories of him getting annoyed and boycotted by the Government, he told this stories to me as well as many people who visited his Gallery Frequently, back then I was listening to him with kind of Coy manners, for I was shocked to hear that someone could be this daring and talk about such sensitive issues so casually, when we used to be alone I warned him to avoid this kind of conversations, for I didn’t want him to get arrested for his open mouth.

On Early 2011, Syrian Crisis started to RISE, I kept visiting Issa, and deep Inside I knew that for many people and Agencies he will be a hit, for he was the kind of person who will never shut up for what he believes is wrong and not righteous, but this time, he kept Silent, said no words, took a corner and watched the ongoing events. He received many calls and invitations for interviews, many of them took place when I was in the Gallery. But he said no word, he apologized very politely saying, that the vision about the reality wasn’t clear yet to talk about it. Later, and step by step he started to form an image about the true story of the street, but by then, he discovered that it is better to work instead of to talk to media, he created what is called the “Art Camping” with some of his friends and gathered a young network, me one of this member and encouraged them to direct their power to something brighter than WAR, he thought that Curing the patient is far more important than trying to awaken the dead. He worked Hard, many times we were in the gallery when the gun shots were heard, Issa calmed us down with his cool attitude and in a minute we started to mock ourselves and lough out loud for being extremely terrified.

Today Issa is still in Aleppo, the city that was known for its nice atmosphere, foods, gatherings, and is now the city of shelling, death, murder and Hunger. Issa refused to leave the town; he believed he had a better mission to accomplish while staying in Aleppo than leaving it. He knew he will watch the reality better with his mere eyes…  Issa lost his House; most of his friends are gone, he survived sniper shots several times. Yet STAYED because he BELIEVED that only with being close one can do good deed to the country and the people…

I thought of writing this because I never got the chance to express my feelings towards the REAL ISSA TOUMA, which I formed after I left town and watched his actions from out of the circle, I love you my friend, wish most of our Artists thought like you, wish I had thought like you, I am sure that we would had been in a better place living a better life.

The "Wish Stall"

The "Wish Stall"

			Syrian government's attempts to eliminate the phenomenon of the spread "stalls" in the country became impossible, however the street hawkers developed their business through time till it became part of Syrian culture. When we asked people from different community slices if they ever had shopped anything off a stall, their responses were 100% “yes”.

The "Art Camping" Team founded “the Wish Stall” in Aleppo, a group of young people who landed a stall where they exchanged their wishes with dreams and Wishes of people in the street. At the beginning people approached the “Wish Stall” out of Curiosity. then they wrote their wishes down and put it among all the other Wishes.... what they wrote were extremely simple like "I wish for peace of mind to me and to my family" or "I want to become a famous fashion designer and have a show in Paris" or "I want my neighbor to know that I love him, and love me back so we marry and make a nice family".

Nairi Dakranian’s Goal (the owner of the idea of "the wish Stall") was to invite all slices of the society to express their wishes and dreams in order to create a nice and informal dialogue and means of communication between all the members of the society, and she believes that helping oneself and others to dream loudly is the first step towards accomplishing goals, and it gives the chance to others to help and be part of the process for realizing each other’s dreams. And she found no other possible way except the Stall, for it is the only space that attracts every person regardless of age, gender or social and intellectual level.

Art Camping

http://www.facebook.com/ArtCamping

Something old, something new Something borrowed, something blue And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

Since I am a newly wedded Bride, and I am Also a new Blogger, I was thinking maybe this would be nice to share as a first post on Maknisn, Specially, after reading what it really means...

Where did the wedding custom of "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" come from? 

 The complete phrase is:

Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

A sixpence is a coin that was minted in Britain from 1551 to 1967. It was made of silver and worth six pennies. So this wedding tradition is definitely English, and many sources say that it began in the Victorian era.

Each item in this poem represents a good-luck token for the bride. If she carries all of them on her wedding day, her marriage will be happy. "Something old" symbolizes continuity with the bride's family and the past. "Something new" means optimism and hope for the bride's new life ahead. "Something borrowed" is usually an item from a happily married friend or family member, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride. The borrowed item also reminds the bride that she can depend on her friends and family.

As for the colorful item, blue has been connected to weddings for centuries. In ancient Rome, brides wore blue to symbolize love, modesty, and fidelity. Christianity has long dressed the Virgin Mary in blue, so purity was associated with the color. Before the late 19th century, blue was a popular color for wedding gowns, as evidenced in proverbs like, "Marry in blue, lover be true."

And finally, a silver sixpence in the bride's shoe represents wealth and financial security. It may date back to a Scottish custom of a groom putting a silver coin under his foot for good luck. For optimum fortune, the sixpence should be in the left shoe. These days, a dime or a copper penny is sometimes substituted, and many companies sell keepsake sixpences for weddings.