ORIENTierungsplan #4 On Cultural Production & Conflict Zones – in conversation with Tewa Barnosa

Tewa Barnosa provides context to her artistic practice of working with languages and scripts to explore socio-political contexts, exemplifying some of her previous works in Tripoli and Berlin. She similarly speaks on the tentative nature of cultural production in a country facing conflict, as well as on the need to artistically document in the diaspora to fight against erasure.

Tewa Barnosa

(b.1998)

Tewa Barnosa is Libyan Tamazight artist and cultural producer, She was born and raised in Tripoli and currently based in Berlin, her practice moves around Identity and belonging definitions, ancient histories and uncertain futures of languages, written, oral and collective memory in the social and political context of Libya and North Africa, Barnosa focuses on the use of different forms of Tifinagh and Arabic calligraphy and texts as the main elements in her artistic production, She experiments with paper based works, installations, digital mediums, moving images and sound art.

Barnosa founded ​WaraQ​ art foundation in 2015, an independent non-profit organisation dedicated to support the contemporary Libyan art scene locally and in the diaspora, Through encouraging socio-critical dialogue between artists and audiences. She curated and organised several exhibitions, projects and activities that took place in WaraQ’s space, and in the public spaces of the old city of Tripoli.

www.tewabarnosa.com

www.waraq.de

Erkan Affan

… is a queer curator and writer born in London, currently based in Berlin. With an academic background in “Middle Eastern” studies [BA, SOAS] and migration studies [MSc, UCL], Erkan’s research has focused most notably on the intersections of sexuality, gender, migration and diasporic identity. Since moving to Berlin in 2019, Erkan completed a curatorial residency funded by the European Commission and co-founded Berlin-based collective Queer Arab Barty – curating social and political spaces in Berlin for LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals. Through their independent practice, Erkan has collaborated with a number of venues and organisations including the ICA in London, Haus der Kulturen der Welt and Die Kunste Werke in Berlin, and the IQMF in Amsterdam. Along with two others, Erkan will be guest curating for a season at the city landmark Baerenzwinger Berlin (located in Mitte) from Autumn 2020 until Spring 2021.