the voice within / the voices without

Ulafa'a would like to cordially invite you to a pop-up exhibition opening at the Bahrain Fort Site Museum this Saturday! Book your calendars for 7pm, 7th September 2013 for "the voice within / the voices without" and a live music performance by Mohammed Obadli. We will also be hosting an open discussion on Monday with the artists of Ulafa'a at the same location and movie screening (Acting together on the world stage) on Tuesday the 10th of September.

The idea behind this small exhibition is to deconstruct the various compositions that make up our personal values and beliefs – what do we value, what makes them so valuable and what are we willing to do to preserve those values? 

Though out the ages, myths and legends have been telling stories of good versus evil. From religion to ethics to philosophy – these have all studied the human contradiction of our ability to love, bond with, and serve others and yet destruct, discriminate, and wrong-do those same persons. Are we born with an innate moral compass or are our beliefs imposed through our environment?

This exhibition explores the idea that good and evil can be derived from an internal conscience as well external influences. People are constructed both from the inside-out as well as from the outside-in. We also look at the way in which we treat and act towards others; the backbone of human relationships - and therefore society as a whole.




We look forward to seeing you there!
The exhibition will be open from the 7 - 14th September

Our Exhibition is Finally Here! - dwell

Hello Everyone! 

We are pleased to announce that our exhibition "dwell" is finally here! Mark your calendar for next Tuesday, the 27th of this month and pass by our pop-up gallery in the heart of Hidd. 

All the information is in the attached invitation... Feel free to spread the word and invite your family and friends to a unique experience of celebrating our families. 

*the map shows two ways to get to our venue, one from Hidd Petrol Station and the other is from Lulu Hypermarket. 

You can also find our event in The Doubt; the new creative directory for art events in Bahrain: 
http://cargocollective.com/thedoubt/Dwell-Exhibition

Hope to see you all there! 

Ulafa'a Team

Call for Participation

For any queries about the exhibition, do not hesitate to contact us: 

e-mail: ulafaainitiative@gmail.com

Twitter & Instagram @ulafaa

Salaam! 

Gergaoon Location

Hi everyone!

Following up from our last post here is the location map for our stall in Manama or you can find us on google maps though this link.

Here is the map if you are coming from the Sacred Heart Church (Isa Kabeer Avenue)

This Map is if you are entering though Manama Gate.

Celebrating Ramadan (Gergaoon)

Since we have been back in Bahrain we have been in planning an amazing series of events leading up to the finale of our first year as Ulafa'a. We hope you are as excited as we are!

The holy month of Ramadan has began where Muslims all around the world fast from dawn to sunset and use this month to focus on spirituality. Traditionally 'Gergaoon' (the 15th night of Ramadan) is celebrated in Bahrain by decorating the  streets, and children collect candies from house to house, singing traditional songs. 

This year Ulafa'a will participate in the celebration of Gergaoon by having a stall in the heart of Manama. We have a few activities set up, for children and adults, that celebrate good will, kindness, and a unified heart - just as Ramadan represents. 

We are inviting the public to come visit our spot (map shall be posted up soon) this Tuesday the 23rd of July from 8.30pm and onwards to join in the festivities and spread the love. Wishing you all a Ramadan Kareem. 

Follow us!

Twitter: @Ulafaa

Instagram: @Ulafaa
Ulafaainitiative@gmail.com

 

You Tube Channel!

Hello Everyone!

Good News! Ulafa'a now has an official channel on youtube! Please support us by subscribing:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Ulafaa

Also, check out our latest video...

A Summary of our work:

Please feel free to share it with your connections!

Salaam,

Ulafa'a Team

Our Common Ground - Alwaan 338

Ulafa’a team was born from a group of individuals of diverse backgrounds and artistic skills, who believe that art has the ability to narrate, change and heal. Instead of creating work in isolated closed studios, Ulafa’a creates opportunities for artists to communicate with people directly and develop relationships, share stories, and eventually generate artworks that engage the community.

We're doing so by participating in Alwan 338,

that is being held in Adliya and organized by Al Riwaq Art space.

This year, the festival is showcasing indoor and outdoor artworks under the theme of "Common Ground".

Our team member Ebrahim AKA EDD is exhibiting an installation piece "One Dialogue for All" 

"Each individual is special and we are all different from one another. Although we are all human; each and every one of us has his/her own characteristics, making every one of us unique. However, we don’t all know each other, making us ignorant of other people’s skills, abilities and ways of thought." He said.

Coming from that concept, he collects people’s words and sentences into paragraphs that is grammatically correct but show a collusion of what everyone around him is saying, representing everyone’s unique verbal expressions.   

We found that involving the community is the best way to get our ideas across, therefore we have launched a nationwide campaign on instagram for people to take pictures of Bahraini sights, neighborhoods, people or community. 
That was the main ingredient of our second artwork in Alwan 338 which was under the name of "Our Freej". 

We wanted to show that we are more similar than we are different across the country as well as encourage people to communicate through photos.

 Ulafaa team member Yasser Al Hasan working on the exhibit in Adliya opposite to Lilou's, Alwan 338.

Ulafaa team member and photographer Khalid Al-Jabri taging his pictures from the streets of Bahrain exhibited in Adileya, Alwan 338.

The wall is being built up slowly with time based on people's interaction in Instagram... Yasser working through the night to give life to people's photographs. "Its always a joy" he said.

Pass-buyer tagging a picture with the location where it was taken. 

The insta-exhibition wall has been building up ever since the festival started... We have recieved great responses through instagram and so many great pictures that reflected the urban spirit of Bahrain...

The viewing of the last update of insta-exhibition will be on the coming Saturday (5 - 8 PM)

So if you are around in Adliya, make sure you pass by our work!

Like we always end with....

Salaam,

Ulafa'a Team

The BAB market - a better Bahrain

Ulafa'a has once again showed up on the streets of Bahrain, promoting unity, trust, love and good will. On the weekends of 7th - 10th and the 14- 17th of March the Ulafa'a team were present at Bab AlBahrain (a historical landmark through which Bahrain would welcome people into their land) where a pop up market had been set up by the Ministry of Culture to celebrate Bahraini talent.

In these two weeks we have successfully made a vast number of people smile through small creative acts of kindness, fun activities and interacting with the community. One of our activities included asking people "What would you like to say to and/or advise the Bahraini community?" - the response was massive. Here are some of the answers we received. We will be posting pictures of our other activities from the BAB market soon so stay tuned and keep checking our blog!

You can also checkout our other pictures on our:
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/UlafaaInitiative
Instagram/twitter: @Ulafaa

Second Vid: Meet Ulafa'a

Hello Everyone! 

Our second video is uploaded! It is a teaser of what we have recorded in the farmers' market.

 Please feel free to share it with your friends and people in your network and help us spread the word =)

 

If you are having a trouble viewing the clip you can watch it through the following link:

https://vimeo.com/58663996

Salaam,
Ulafa'a Team 

Featuring in Ethics Center

Hello Everyone, 

As a main part of the project, Ulafa'a has been communicating with Bradeis University throughout the process to investigate the creative approaches of reconciliation. Skype meetings and online conferences will be conducted to bridge the relationship between Ulafa'a and Peacebuilding and The Arts Program in Brandeis University. All in order to produce a creative artwork that touches people and help in bringing them together. 

Ulafa'a is now featured in the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life's website which you can check out by clicking here.

Many thanks for the team of Peacebuilding and The Arts Program in Brandeis for their constant help and  support. 


Salaam, 
Ulafa'a Team

A Morning in Farmers' Market

Since the weather is perfectly cold Ulafa'a decided to change the scene and hit the farmers' market early morning for a farmers' breakfast and to record few clips about the project... 


We leave you with some pictures of that day... 

Wasan and Ali preparing to take the first clip..... Action! 

Our first Ulafa'a member to talk, Yasser

We needed someone to "direct" people and supervise... Nada and Yasser didn't mind taking the part!

When the person behind the camera comes in front of it.... becomes too nervous!

Setting up Nada with the mic

 Farmers' market is going to be there every Saturday until May in Budaiya Gardens... You should not miss it! 


Keep an eye for the next Ulafa'a video... 


Salaam,
Ulafaa Team 

Ulafaa in GDN =)

Hello Everyone! 

After our times in market 338, our team member Areej (journalist and painter) published an article about us in Gulf Daily News... 

You can view the original size of the picture through the link here. 
 
You can also view the article through GDN's official website here.

Thanks Areej ^^

Salaam, 
The Ulafaa Team