Birzeit University Museum organizes two conversations with artist Bani Abidi

The Birzeit University Museum organized two conversations with artist Bani Abidi within the events of the art exhibition “Bani Abidi: The Man Who Talked until He Disappeared,” in cooperation with the A.M. Qattan Foundation. The talks were held on November 9 and 19, 2022.

The first conversation was held between Abidi and Dr. Yazid Anani, director of Public Programs at Qattan and professor at Birzeit University. Titled “The Art of Re-production: Bani Abidi in Palestine,” the conversation covered “re-producing” work as one of the conceptual interventions of the exhibition. In addition, the conversation covered the theoretical, aesthetic and practical implications involved in this process. Abidi and Dr. Anani also addressed the defiance and refusal written into the exhibition’s conceptual note. Since the material work of re-producing sheds light on the contradictions embedded in the act, questions of refusal arise along with the potential limitations in re-presentation.

In the second conversation, Director of PhD Program in Social Sciences at Birzeit University Dr. Rema Hammami asked Abidi about the artwork in the exhibition and her work as an artist and experimenter. This conversation covered the material realities of and journey toward the current exhibition as well as what lies ahead for the artist.

“Bani Abidi: The Man Who Talked until He Disappeared” is open at Birzeit University Museum from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. on Monday-Thursday and Saturday until the end of the current 2022-32 academic year.