Stories, Sites and Amsterdam Noord bites

Tourist 01 and Tourist 02: A salon with Lara Baladi and Hala Elkoussy

26 May 2009
26 May 2009

An evening of urban dislocation that plunged us in Cairo, De Bijlmer and Amsterdam Noord.

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Lara Baladi cheering - 20–12–2008 Just before the official opening of the Cairo Biennial 2008, Lara Baladi hears that her work "Borg el Amal" has won the prize of the international jury... Willem Velthoven

With: Lara Baladi

Soap Stories & Borg el Amal

Artists Hala Elkoussy and Lara Baladi, both with roots in Cairo, guided us through this unexpected itinerary. Very different in approach and form, their work is as much about lived urban experience, as it is about its promise. What is it that makes a site specific, unlike any other, and places it on the map? What beauty and hope is there to be found, lodged in the informal architecture of Cairo or in the visual digital trash from a trip to Japan? Which tales and dreams are told by the residents of De Bijlmer? And what are the ultimate tips and skips for dining in Amsterdam Noord?

Hala Elkoussy presented Soap Stories and Lara Baladi showed Borg el Amal.

After these presentations you could perform in Re:Parallax. This is a re-enactment of the performance Parallax by Zhana Ivanova. Re:Parallax is part of our WatSpinoza? exhibition.

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Lara Baladi. - Tijdens de Verhalen, plekken en stukjes Amsterdam Noord-Salon bij Mediamatic Bank. Laura Bultman

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Hala Elkoussy - A'dam Noord salon - Tijdens de Verhalen, plekken en stukjes Amsterdam Noord-Salon bij Mediamatic Bank. Laura Bultman

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Nat Muller introduceert de sprekers. - Tijdens de Verhalen, plekken en stukjes Amsterdam Noord-Salon bij Mediamatic Bank. Kitty Kamp

With: Nat Muller
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Soap Stories, 2008 - Installation of 1.000 A4 papers by Hala Elkoussy Hala Elkoussy

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Lara Baladi Borg el Amal 2008 - Hoping for a roof. Inside the Borg el Amal (Tower of Hope) you listen to a music piece for Donkeys, Human Voices and Strings. Composed by Nathaniel Robin Mars and Angel López de la Llave. (photo by WV) Willem Velthoven, Lara Baladi

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Lara Baladi Tower of Hope Detail - The custom made bricks depict a citizen holding his donkey by the tail. The body of the donkey spells "Amal", "Hope" in arabic. There are english language bricks too for the international visitors... (photo by WV) Willem Velthoven, Lara Baladi

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Bricks, Borg el Amal, 2008 - by Lara Baladi Lara Baladi

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Lara congratulating Nathaniel - Artist Lara Baladi and composer Mathaniel Robin Mann in Tower of Hope at the Cairo Biennale 2008. photo by WV. Willem Velthoven

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Nat Muller is calling Lara Baladi - In front of her Tower of Hope at the Cairo biennale. Willem Velthoven