Opening Cairo pavilion

Tourist 05: Dina Danish performed 'The Ursonata'

6 Nov 2009
6 Nov 2009

On Friday the 6th of November at 20:00 hrs the Cairo pavilion 'Manuals for Failure' opened, curated by Nat Muller. The pavilion introduces four instances defying definition by Dina Danish. To celebrate there was waraq anab (vine leaves stuffed with rice) and mana'ish (delicious bread with various toppings) made by chef Michel Yammine.

In good accordance with Kurt Schwitter’s claim that "Everything the artist spits is art", Dina Danish performed her 10’ interpretation of Kurt Schwitters’ phonetic poem: “The Ursonata”.

Enlarge

Dina Danish - Ursonata performance - Photo taken at the Opening of Cairo Pavilion at the Amsterdam Biennale at Mediamatic Bank (06/11/09) Raphael Rehbach

With: Dina Danish

Cairo pavilion: Manuals for Failure

Premiering the work of Dina Danish in the Netherlands, Manuals for Failure offers four instances which engage humorously and repetitively with the refusal of definition and fixity. These performative actions, recorded in video, speech or print, frame the artist in self-designed settings governed by impossible rules, or demands that cannot be met. The series of exercises the artist runs through mechanically, meticulously – if not compulsively – are funny, yet also alienating.

Dina Danish is a multi-media artist. She attended The American University in Cairo, where she received her B.A. in art, followed by an MFA at California College of the Arts. Currently she is a resident at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam and has been selected as a finalist for the SECA of SFMOMA award.

Nat Muller is an independent curator and critic based between Rotterdam and the Middle East. Her main interests include: the intersections of aesthetics and politics; issues of representation, media art, and contemporary art in and from the Middle East. Together with Mediamatic she is preparing a comprehensive site-specific project for 2010.

Where and when

From 20:00 hrs at Mediamatic BANK, Vijzelstraat 68, Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Biennale 2009

The Amsterdam Biennale 2009 presents the contemporary art scene from all over the world. More than thirty international curators from the Mediamatic network provide their view of art in their city. With weekly openings of the pavilions. Go here for more information.