By shear nature of its focus on the rights of Syrian artists, Ettijahat finds itself constantly exploring ways to provide protection to its artist community from risks resulting from forced displacement, vulnerable legal status in host countries, prosecution and challenges in entering the creative landscape of countries of refuge.
Through the support provided by Mimeta, Ettijahat has been enhancing the freedom and protection of artists both physically and digitally. The organization is exploring the deployment of some of its existing programs. A special call for applications was launched in August 2022 entitled Sanad in the Digital Realm to support the production and development of digital arts, promote discussions on freedom of expression, and advocate for the development of provocative artworks dealing with matters such as human rights, the patriarchy, censorship, climate justice, and other prominent issues. In its pilot edition, this exploratory component stems from the wish to benefit from the lessons, experiences, and questions that arose since 2019 from Sanad with regards to the concepts of freedom, safety, and protection, and all the discussions that have expanded in the past years within the art scene in the Arab region, especially in the Syrian context. The support framework includes artistic production support funds of up to €4,500 each for six digital projects dealing with provocative subjects, access to and use of digital platforms for developing, exhibiting, and discussing projects and supportive professional services, including but not limited to, expert consultation on legal matters, guidance on cybersecurity, and other topics related to these practices.
45 international applications were received (53.12% from male applicants, 37.5% from female applicants, 6.25% from non-binary applicants, and 3.1% from transgender applicants), with topics ranging from music (46.87%), visual arts (18.75%), creative writing (12.5%), digital art (12.5%), cinema (3.12%), and performing arts (3.12%). They were assessed by three experts in the artistic and digital fields. Seven projects were selected from Syria, Lebanon, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Abkhazia. In the upcoming months, the participants will work on their projects with completion expected in the first half of 2023. In parallel, they will have the opportunity to engage in discussions on the role of creative interventions in reclaiming violated rights. The support given will also enable them to show their works to a wider community. The selected artists will have access to tools and guidance regarding IT support and cybersecurity, digital coordination and exhibition of the arts, legal consultations, and psychological support.
Ettijahat research program, supported by Mimeta from its inception, involves the production of research materials from a civic perspective to contribute to the discussion about the potential role of art amid a challenging reality. Ettijahat’s work with the researchers explored ways to position artistic and cultural activities at the heart of major questions related to public life. The researchers reflected on certain artforms and their role in the Syrian context. They also tackled new questions raised by documentary filmmaking, the relationship with the image, and the major transformations that have taken place in the visual arts sphere since 2011, in addition to analysing the unique characteristics of performing arts and theatre in Syria. Other research papers reflected on new developments in the relationship with architecture, TV drama, the history of cultural activism abroad, and prison songs. In addition, some researchers compared experiences from Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Sudan.
In order to give the public a glimpse of the main issues faced by the researchers and their intellectual discussions with the jury, three meetings were organized in the form of a podcast entitled Researcher’s Café, where researchers discussed with jury members the intersection of their themes: the clash between the arts and the polemics around public space, the concepts of novelty and change in artistic and creative productions within the Syrian context, and the roles of the arts in the writing of history outside official and dominant narrative frameworks.
The dissemination of such tools online also serves to inspire new policy decisions among policy makers and other influential parties (e.g., formal/informal advisors, cultural sector ambassadors and institutions, prominent civil society activists, etc.) in discussing and promoting the findings of the beneficiaries’ research. In 2023, an extension of the Research programme will notably be supported by the German Federal Foreign Office to increase the number of research projects and publications and ensure a widest circulation among professionals in the research field through partnerships with universities.
