Hub 2010 - artsawa (Archive)

Throughout its history, opera has shown a remarkable ability to reinvent itself to adapt to new social demands and artistic movements. This course explores some of the turning points of operatic history, and will examine how composers, dramatists and producers have constantly found ways to keep opera relevant and rewarding. All operas will be subtitled in English Content: 1. Jean-Baptiste Lully – Persée 2. Henry Purcell – The Fairy Queen 3. Christoph Willibald von Gluck – Orfeo ed Euridice 4. Gioachino Rossini – La donna del lago 5. Carl Maria von Weber – Der Freischütz 6. Giuseppe Verdi – Don Carlos 7. Richard Wagner – Tristan und Isolde 8. Claude Debussy – Pelléas et Mélisande 9. Benjamin Britten – Peter Grimes 10. Bernd Alois Zimmermann – Die Soldaten David Lesser studied the piano at the Royal College of Music in London and then the music composition at the University of Huddersfield. He was Senior Teaching Fellow in Music and Open Studies Certificate coordinator at the University of Warwick (1993-2007). His music has been widely performed in Britain and Europe by Ensemble Aleph, Accroche Note, Linda Hirst, Ian Pace and others. As a performer he specializes in the music of the Twentieth century, vocal repertoire, and has given a number of world and British premieres. He is active as a composer, performer, lecturer and teacher. PREVIEW VISUALS

TALK: HISTORY OF ART (SEASON 2 – MORNING)

Season 1: Realism, the progressive movement in art and literature sought to depict the everyday social truths of the new industrial age. It continued to influence new approaches to the depiction of reality in the 20th Century. The Salon des Refusee in 1863 put European Art on an unprecedented path to new ways of seeing in the years that followed. In this course we will explore the influence of industrialization, urbanization and political change that so influenced the Symbolists, Impressionists and Post Impressionists. The art that they produced was to shape everything that followed. Season 2: With the emergence of Secession and Art Nouveau, art movements continued to break away from the traditions of the official academies. Avant-garde exhibitions in Vienna by Gustav Klimt and the French Fauve movement led by Henri Matisse caused great controversy, as did Expression in Northern Europe. Pablo Picasso played such an important part in the development of modern art with ` Les Demoiselles d`Avignon ` and the revolutionary art movement, Cubism. The chaos of World War 1 and the Russian Revolution ended this period with the further shattering of conventional ideas in painting and sculpture. Content: Season 1 1. Realism and French Impressionism 2. Neo-impressionism and Symbolism 3. Post Impressionism and Vincent Van Gogh 4. Post Impressionism and Paul Gauguin 5. Post Impressionism and Paul Cezanne Season 2 1. Art Nouveau and Secession 2. Fauvism and Matisse 3. Expressionism 4. Early Picasso and “Les Demoiselles d`Avignon” 5. Cubism Shelley Young read for a postgraduate diploma in the History of Art and Architecture at East Anglia University`s acclaimed Sainsbury Centre, after completing a Bachelor of Arts Degree at Cape Town University. She went on to study at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. She has a special interest in 20th Century Modern Art and she is currently researching the influence of Modernism on Contemporary Islamic Art. She is also a collector of Contemporary Gulf Art and Antique Oriental Art.

This course concentrates on the elements and the language of Arabic Calligraphy through the visual elements (line, volume, texture, color, shape). Moreover, this course also concentrates on the recognition of the different forms, Styles & Types of Arabic Calligraphy. In addition, they well learn the History of Arabic Calligraphy, Materials & Tools of the Calligraphers. Objectives To introduce the basic elements, principles and techniques of Arabic Calligraphy. Students` creativity. Developing the perceptional ability of the recognition of Letters and their Forms, Styles & Types. Developing Preparing students to deal positively with Letters in Each Style. Exercises Drawing by writing and lining, and making artistic shapes of Arabic Letters and aesthetic relations through geometrical and free forms, etc Making forms, masses, and models (if necessary) Saleh Al Shukairi is a member of the Omani Society for Fine Arts, where he is one of the founders and active participant of the Calligraphy Club and the Youth Studio. Saleh has exhibited internationally, notably in Germany, Pakistan, South Korea, Washington DC - USA and the UAE, and the 11th Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh he received an "Honorary Award". He has participated in all calligraphy workshops in Oman since 1993, the largest painting in the world the Muscat Festival in 2000 and in Sharjah 2009 and in the Folk Festival organized by the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, USA, in 2005. Saleh`s work ranges from time-honored classical religious calligraphy to contemporary abstract work that utilizes this traditional art form. He enjoys experimenting with materials, colors and techniques to produce his evocative pieces. He has produced more than One Hundred Sixty artworks since 90`s.

"Every time I try to tell you, all the words just come out wrong. So I have to say I love you in a song" - Jim Croce. We all have a song in our hearts - but how to put it down on paper? Composers are revered as genius - but the act of composing simple tunes is not as difficult as it sometimes seems. Join Wendy Palmer for a 6 weeks practical course and learn the basic chordial approach to writing tunes to words of your own choosing. Content Scanning poetry into musical rhythm; elements of melodic writing; practical chord progressions, song forms and formulae; computer notation programme. After 6 weeks you should be able to write simple tunes to words of your choosing, with accompaniment by guitar (or other chordal instrument) Wendy J. Palmer is already a well-known figure on the Dubai Classical Music scene. British, South African born, she counts herself privileged to have lived and worked in various countries around the world as performer, teacher, composer/arranger and conductor. Since her arrival in Dubai six years ago, she has participated fully in local musical activities - among others, singing with (and sometimes conducting) the Dubai Singers; performing with the Dubai Classical Guitar Orchestra; moderating the Dubai Classical Music yahoo notification group. 2010 sees Wendy’s return to active music teaching after a failed experiment in retirement.

WORKSHOP: CINE CLUB 2 (FEDERICO FELLINI)

Federico Fellini’s influence in the world of film prompted the creation of the term Felliniesque. A very autobiographical filmmaker, his childhood memories and dreams were the raw material for his films. His characters were distinguished by their eccentricities and his humor was often absurd. He has been a major influence on the works of many distinguished directors among them Bergman, Kubrick Scorsese, Bertolucci and Fassbinder. Join us in November for the screenings of some of his best films. Screenings: 4 of the best movies by Federico Fellini 1- La Dolce Vita (1960) 2- 8 ½ (1963) 3- Juliet of the Spirits (1965) 4- Amacord (1973) Sumaya Kubeisy studied Communication Arts at the Lebanese American University and received her Masters in Film Production at Boston University. She was later an instructor of Television and Film at the Lebanese American University in Beirut for 4 years. She worked in television production with various TV stations for over ten years as a director and producer and headed the production department at Future Television in Lebanon from 1995- 1999, when she left the professional life to become a full time mother. Most recently, she worked with Dubai TV as a consultant to the team responsible for restructuring and modernizing the channel.

Do you enjoy creating art and want have a go at public art? Art Sawa is hosting a series of fun new workshops where participants will have the opportunity to express their creativity through painting or mixed media on different and new mediums. The final art pieces will then be exhibited inside and outside of Art Sawa where passersby will be able to appreciate the masterpieces that they’ve created. No prior painting experience is needed, just an open and creative mind. There is no limit to creativity. Art Sawa invites you to try something different. Public art is a form of art which can be in any media that has been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all. By using found objects, scraps of styrofoam and wire participants will be given the opportunity to paint, collage and sculpt different objects and work together in order to create a final public art piece – The Tree of Life. A skeleton of a tree will be created by wire and participants will be asked place their creations on and around the tree. The tree will then be exhibited outside the gallery.

Learn how to play Folk Guitar in a group of supportive adults. The aim will be to play a simple 3-chord song before the end of December. You will learn a minimum of 3 basic chords; play and sing several songs; try different strumming and picking patterns, and perhaps bass run and hammer-on techniques! Wendy J. Palmer is already a well-known figure on the Dubai Classical Music scene. British, South African born, she counts herself privileged to have lived and worked in various countries around the world as performer, teacher, composer/arranger and conductor. Since her arrival in Dubai six years ago, she has participated fully in local musical activities - among others, singing with (and sometimes conducting) the Dubai Singers; performing with the Dubai Classical Guitar Orchestra; moderating the Dubai Classical Music yahoo notification group. 2010 sees Wendy’s return to active music teaching after a failed experiment in retirement.

Learn how to play Classical Guitar in a group of supportive adults. The aim will be to play a simple tune as a quartet before the end of December. You will learn the fundamentals of music and notation and how they work on the guitar; how to tune and hold a Classical guitar in the traditional way; the different right hand strokes and left hand fingering. Wendy J. Palmer is already a well-known figure on the Dubai Classical Music scene. British, South African born, she counts herself privileged to have lived and worked in various countries around the world as performer, teacher, composer/arranger and conductor. Since her arrival in Dubai six years ago, she has participated fully in local musical activities - among others, singing with (and sometimes conducting) the Dubai Singers; performing with the Dubai Classical Guitar Orchestra; moderating the Dubai Classical Music yahoo notification group. 2010 sees Wendy’s return to active music teaching after a failed experiment in retirement.

TALK:MUSIC? ART? POETRY? THE LIFE AND WORK OF JOHN CAGE

At the forefront of the avant-garde for over six decades, the music of the American composer John Cage (1912-92) has had a huge impact on late 20th/21st Century aesthetics. This lecture will explore Cage’s life, work and influence on music, poetry, art and culture, and will examine the many profound challenges it raises to our conventional understanding of the arts in contemporary society. David Lesser studied the piano at the Royal College of Music in London and then the music composition at the University of Huddersfield. He was Senior Teaching Fellow in Music and Open Studies Certificate coordinator at the University of Warwick (1993-2007). His music has been widely performed in Britain and Europe by Ensemble Aleph, Accroche Note, Linda Hirst, Ian Pace and others. As a performer he specializes in the music of the Twentieth century, vocal repertoire, and has given a number of world and British premieres. He is active as a composer, performer, lecturer and teacher.

A rare chance to enjoy eight of the world’s greatest complete operas 1-Puccini – Tosca – Puccini’s ever-popular tragic love story set against the intrigues of Napoleonic Rome. 2-Monteverdi – Orfeo – the first great opera. 3-Verdi –La traviata – Verdi’s tragically beautiful opera of doomed love. 4-Debussy – Pelléas et Melisande – Debussy’s dream-like Symbolist opera based upon Maeterlinck’s drama. 5-Mascagni – Cavalleria rusticana - Franco Zefferelli’s breathtaking film of Mascagni’s opera of passion, betrayal and revenge set in rural Sicily. 6-Bellini – La sonnambula – Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece - a tragic-comedy of jealousy and the redeeming power of love. 7-Britten – Owen Wingrave - the composer’s only television opera – a powerful attack upon militarism and prejudice. 8-Offenbach – Orphée aux enfers – Offenbach’s riotously comic satire on the politics and morals of Second Empire France. David Lesser studied the piano at the Royal College of Music in London and then the music composition at the University of Huddersfield. He was Senior Teaching Fellow in Music and Open Studies Certificate coordinator at the University of Warwick (1993-2007). His music has been widely performed in Britain and Europe by Ensemble Aleph, Accroche Note, Linda Hirst, Ian Pace and others. As a performer he specializes in the music of the Twentieth century, vocal repertoire, and has given a number of world and British premieres. He is active as a composer, performer, lecturer and teacher.

The purpose of this course is to develop an appreciation of film through the study of the fundamentals and aesthetics of this medium. You will learn the ABC’s of film language, which will allow you to better, understand and analyze movies by deciphering their symbolic and inferred meanings. The course will cover all the basic elements of film including cinematography, mise en scene, montage, sound, and narrative structure. The lectures will include scenes from various film classics, which have shaped the history of cinema. This course will help you to watch movies more critically, to observe and appreciate cinematic subtleties, and develop a more profound appreciation of the art of the film. Content: 1. Content and form 2. Light & shadow 3. Colour and lenses 4. Mise En scene 5. Movement 6. Montage 7. Sound 8. Drama 9. Narrative structure 10. Genre & myth Sumaya Kubeisy studied Communication Arts at the Lebanese American University and received her Masters in Film Production at Boston University. She was later an instructor of Television and Film at the Lebanese American University in Beirut for 4 years. She worked in television production with various TV stations for over ten years as a director and producer and headed the production department at Future Television in Lebanon from 1995- 1999, when she left the professional life to become a full time mother. Most recently, she worked with Dubai TV as a consultant to the team responsible for restructuring and modernizing the channel, and is currently a part time professor of television AUD.

Dancing is a great way to keep fit and have fun at the same time; plus you`ll never be stuck for moves on the dance floor again!! It allows people to discover, explore and develop their natural instincts for movement, enabling the dancers to develop not only their motor skills but also their mental and emotional personalities. Dance transforms images, ideas and feelings into sequences of movement that are personally and socially significant. Every dance, no matter what style, has something in common. It involves expression, flexibility and body movement. Salsa is a spicy partner dance with origins in South America. There are several different styles. Learning Salsa gives you a good introduction to all forms of Latin dancing, as well as being thoroughly enjoyable in its own right. It is an excellent workout. You`ll get fit; more toned and look better but also have fun while you`re doing it. Dancing Salsa can burn up to 10 calories per minute. But best of all, Salsa Dancing is as easy as.... 1 2 3 _ 5 6 7 _ MoMo was born and raised in the UAE, where a diverse mix of cultures, music and dance styles influenced his passion for dance. In this unique environment he learnt to dance at the age of ten receiving training in Hip Hop, Break Dancing and RNB. He has studied under world-renowned dancers and attended International and local Salsa Festivals and Congresses working alongside International Artists including Eric Lalta/Holland, Inaiki Fernandes/Spain and 2009 Salsa World Champions Luisa and Eider/Colombia. Over the course of the last 8 years MoMo has developed a style of dance that combines turn patterns and body movements from Bachata, Merengue and Salsa with many of his own original moves and techniques. The end result is an expressive style of dance that allows dancers to be more creative than with traditional Salsa. He has taught private and group classes for both adults and children as well as at schools and community events. He is one of the original members/founder of a private Salsa group called Espiritu Latino that performs at many local and international salsa events and congresses.

WORKSHOP: AUDITION & PERFORMANCE PREPARATION

One of the most terrifying events we ever face as singers is our first audition or live performance. Suddenly we have to stand on our own in unfamiliar surroundings and deliver with no help from teachers, friends and family. This practical workshop is designed for anyone preparing to audition or perform. It will focus on presentation and interpretation, stage presence, managing nerves, breathing and simple tips to make any audition an opportunity to shine rather than an occasion to be dreaded. Participants will be accompanied, and will have the chance to perform to a small, informal audience at the end of each class. Individual tuition and coaching support is also available, please contact Art Sawa for details. Clare Lesser studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, Birmingham University and Birmingham Conservatoire. Then, at the University of Sussex, she completed groundbreaking research on the music of B.A. Zimmermann. She specializes in the performance of 20th and 21st century music, and has collaborated with many composers on new works, giving over fifty premieres. She has recorded Lieder by Wolfgang Rihm, chamber music by Richard Emsley, the works for solo soprano and soprano with instrumental trio by Michael Finnissy, and many other contemporary classics. She has performed throughout Europe, including at the Edinburgh and Avignon International Festivals. She was nominated for the Royal Philharmonic Society Singing Award in 2003.

Is there an artist in you? Based on chromatology and basic knowledge of materials, we will explore various painting methods such as acrylic, crayon, pencil, sand, textile, collage, lift off etc. I am also working with painting techniques such as brush, spatula, sponge and finger painting. We will set the limits for specific exercises after which media and methods will be tested in practice. Objectives: Insight into: mixing Color and abstraction painting Vegetable prints on canvas Collage/ technique: portrait painting Textile Lift off Content: Collectively: Theory Chromatology Analysis of paint media and painting techniques - Building of a painting Individual Practice Shefali Ranthe painted for years and has gradually gained a solid understanding of what works and what does not. She will strive to give the students individual instructions and make sure that everybody gets the most out of the course.

Martin Scorsese is considered to be one of the most significant and influential American filmmakers of his era, directing landmark films such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas, all of which he collaborated on with actor Robert De Niro. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed. Scorsese’s body of work addresses such themes as Italian American identity, concepts of guilt and redemption, machismo and violence. Come and join us for screenings of his five most celebrated films. Screenings: 5 of the best movies by Martin Scorcese 1- Taxi Driver (1976) 2- Raging Bull (1980) 3- Goodfellas (1990) 4- Casino (1995 5- The Departed (2006) Sumaya Kubeisy studied Communication Arts at the Lebanese American University and received her Masters in Film Production at Boston University. She was later an instructor of Television and Film at the Lebanese American University in Beirut for 4 years. She worked in television production with various TV stations for over ten years as a director and producer and headed the production department at Future Television in Lebanon from 1995- 1999, when she left the professional life to become a full time mother. Most recently, she worked with Dubai TV as a consultant to the team responsible for restructuring and modernizing the channel.

WORKSHOP: EXPRESSIONISM: HISTORY & LEGACY

The inky palette of film noir, the extreme dissonance of contemporary musical language and the fragmentary dialogue and layered staging of Robert Wilson’s theatrical productions are some of the most striking examples of the enduring legacy of German Expressionism - one of the key artistic movements of the early 20th century. This lecture will explore the work of some of the leading figures in music, literature, theatre and film, including Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Georg Trakl and Georg Heym, Adolf Appia, Max Reinhardt, Georg Kaiser, Robert Wiene, Fritz Lang, W.F. Murnau and their creative legacies. Clare Lesser studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, Birmingham University and Birmingham Conservatoire. Then, at the University of Sussex, she completed groundbreaking research on the music of B.A. Zimmermann. She specializes in the performance of 20th and 21st century music, and has collaborated with many composers on new works, giving over fifty premieres. She has recorded Lieder by Wolfgang Rihm, chamber music by Richard Emsley, the works for solo soprano and soprano with instrumental trio by Michael Finnissy, and many other contemporary classics. She has performed throughout Europe, including at the Edinburgh and Avignon International Festivals. She was nominated for the Royal Philharmonic Society Singing Award in 2003.

TALK: A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY 1996-2010|CAMILLE ZAKHARIA

In his first public presentation in Dubai, Camille ZAKHARIA will walk the audience through a captivating visual journey, discussing major projects completed in the last 15 years, reflecting on issues related to sense of self and belonging. This is an inspiring talk by a leading contemporary photographer from the Middle East who has a long association with British Council, and it is highly recommended for arts enthusiasts. The event is organized by British Council and Art Sawa. Camille Zakharia uses his camera to document the journey taken since his departure from Lebanon. Through photo-montage, collage and print he both reveals and reconstructs his encounters with people and places, exteriors and interiors. Within this process is an exploration of home, identity and belonging in the context of a globalized condition. Zakharia has received numerous accolades for his work. Most recently, he exhibited in the Reclaim project at the Bahrain Pavilion of the Venice Biennale’s 12th International Architecture Exhibition, winner of the Golden Lion Award for the best National Participation. In 2009, he was shortlisted for the prestigious Jameel Prize. He is the recipient of Canada Council for the Arts and Nova Scotia Arts Council Production Grants, and winner of 3 First Prize in the International Photography Awards. Zakharia has exhibited prolifically across North America, Europe and the Middle East, including – Victoria & Albert Museum London UK, Canadian Museum of Civilizations Quebec Canada, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Canada, Wichita Center for the Arts USA, National Art Gallery Bangladesh, National Museum Damascus Syria, Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization UAE, Art Gallery at Saint Mary’s University Canada, Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography Toronto Canada, Museum of Fine Art Florida State University USA, Appleton Museum of Art USA, Sharjah Art Museum UAE, Art Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar, Bin Matar House Bahrain, Al Riwaq Art Space Bahrain and Clayton Staples Gallery USA.

TALK: HISTORY OF ART (SEASON 1 – MORNING)

TALK: HISTORY OF ART (SEASON 1 – EVENING)

This course concentrates on the elements and the language of Arabic Calligraphy through the visual elements (line, volume, texture, color, shape). Moreover, this course also concentrates on the recognition of the different forms, Styles & Types of Arabic Calligraphy. In addition, they well learn the History of Arabic Calligraphy, Materials & Tools of the Calligraphers. Objectives • To introduce the basic elements, principles and techniques of Arabic Calligraphy. • Students` creativity. • Developing the perceptional ability of the recognition of Letters and their Forms, Styles & Types. • Developing Preparing students to deal positively with Letters in Each Style. Exercises • Drawing by writing and lining, and making artistic shapes of Arabic Letters and aesthetic relations through geometrical and free forms, etc • Making forms, masses, and models (if necessary) Saleh Al Shukairi is a member of the Omani Society for Fine Arts, where he is one of the founders and active participant of the Calligraphy Club and the Youth Studio. Saleh has exhibited internationally, notably in Germany, Pakistan, South Korea, Washington DC - USA and the UAE, and the 11th Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh he received an "Honorary Award". He has participated in all calligraphy workshops in Oman since 1993, the largest painting in the world the Muscat Festival in 2000 and in Sharjah 2009 and in the Folk Festival organized by the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, USA, in 2005. Saleh`s work ranges from time-honored classical religious calligraphy to contemporary abstract work that utilizes this traditional art form. He enjoys experimenting with materials, colors and techniques to produce his evocative pieces. He has produced more than One Hundred Sixty artworks since 90`s.

TALK: THE REPRESENTATION OF THE HUMAN BODY IN CONTEMPORARY ART

Wael Darwesh was born in 1975, Cairo and since lives and works in Cairo, Egypt “In the past few years I have been much concerned with the changing perceptions and the state of continuous social metamorphosis that Egypt has witnessed in the last three decades. In my mixed media projects, I try to probe several phenomenon that constitute for me some permanent obsessions, like time, its relevance to the subject matter employed, elements of migration, gender, identity, among other themes that attract several Egyptian artists of my generation. Technically, I apply assemblages to create installation/ sculptural states that transcend simple two-dimensional art forms; through the studied and experimental use of collage I combine colour, calligraphy, textile, and various textural media to explore issues of space and passage of time.” explained Darwesh. Khaled Hafez comments on this exhibition:”Wael Darwesh’s painting projects in the past few years were inspired by American Colour Field painting and French Lyrical Abstraction, where large “fields” of flat solid colour colonize harmoniously large areas of the canvas to create a homogenous surface of flat picture plane, stressing on the overall consistency of form over the brush movement and brushstrokes. Contrary to standard Colour Field and Lyrical Abstraction Darwesh for years have successfully combined abstraction styles and painterly techniques with elements of figuration and cognitive representation. In his 2010 works, Wael Darwesh uses his cumulative experience as a painter as well as an interdisciplinary artist to create canvases that uses photography as a base for his brush, eliminating along the way backgrounds. In this process, the artist creates, and narrates, an alternative reality for the figures that filled the planes of the initial photograph. The streets of Cairo act as a location much representative of contemporary Middle Eastern urban cities; ordinary citizens dwell the streets and alleys alongside soldiers and traffic policemen. Every photographed or painted individual play a different role while interacting with each other in a universe that is almost hyper real. Darwesh attempts to extend the limits of standard painting, and expands the battery of symbols proposed by this medium by accumulating what photography can add to the canvas: frozen reality, depth of field, and more visual symbols that Jean Baudrillard proposed –in his seminal work on simulation and simulacra-- as defining our contemporary over-industrialized societies today”. PREVIEW VISUALS

WORKSHOP: THE GERMAN OPERA (LATE ROMANTICISM AND EARLY MODERNISM) (EVENING)

Late Romanticism and Early Modernism The death of Richard Wagner in 1883 began an unprecedented period of experimentation in German opera, which produced some of the most beautiful and challenging operas ever conceived between 1880 and 1930. This short course will introduce the work of five of the most important operatic composers of the period and will highlight many of the musical, dramatic and emotional innovations of this extraordinary era. All operas will be subtitled in English. Content: 1. Wagner’s legacy – Engelbert Humperdinck and Hansel und Gretel. 2. Decadence and horror – Richard Strauss’ Salome. 3. Psychodrama and Symbolism – the work of Franz Schreker and Die Gezeichneten. 4. Romanticism and Expressionism – Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Die tote Stadt. 5. “The first great opera of the twentieth century” – Alban Berg and Wozzeck. David Lesser studied the piano at the Royal College of Music in London and then the music composition at the University of Huddersfield. He was Senior Teaching Fellow in Music and Open Studies Certificate Cocoordinator at the University of Warwick (1993-2007). His music has been widely performed in Britain and Europe by Ensemble Aleph, Accroche Note, Linda Hirst, Ian Pace and others. As a performer he specializes in the music of the Twentieth century, vocal repertoire, and has given a number of world and British premieres. He is active as a composer, performer, lecturer and teacher.

WORKSHOP: THE GERMAN OPERA (LATE ROMANTICISM AND EARLY MODERNISM) (MORNING)

A rare chance to watch four of the world’s greatest operas complete. Content: 1. Mozart’s symbolic comedy drama of spiritual enlightenment and love – Die Zauberflöte - Battle, Araiza & Moll, MET 1992 - 169 mins. 2. Donizetti’s sparkling romantic comedy – L’elisir d’amore - Battle, Pavarotti & Pons, MET 1992 - 128 mins. 3. Puccini’s lightening quick opera buffa – Gianni Schicchi- Pons, La Scala 1983 - 45 mins. 4. Bartók’s darkly gothic fairytale – Duke Bluebeard’s Castle - Lloyd & Laurence, BBC TV production 1988 -63 mins. All operas are sung in their original languages and are subtitled in English. David Lesser studied the piano at the Royal College of Music in London and then the music composition at the University of Huddersfield. He was Senior Teaching Fellow in Music and Open Studies Certificate coordinator at the University of Warwick (1993-2007). His music has been widely performed in Britain and Europe by Ensemble Aleph, Accroche Note, Linda Hirst, Ian Pace and others. As a performer he specializes in the music of the Twentieth century, vocal repertoire, and has given a number of world and British premieres. He is active as a composer, performer, lecturer and teacher.

“Little movement’ is a group workshop for children of very young age. It is a basically an exercise to represent the reality that surrounds us, introducing the use of different medias and their application on a large scale and unstretched canvas. This workshop gives course to the imagination and creativeness of the young ones, guiding them into the visual communication by simple graphics, lines, forms, colours and puts on record their inventiveness and freedom. Objectives: 1- Encourage the natural minimalist instinct in drawing, sense of negative and positive space, 2- Apply different medias, shapes, and colours onto a big scale support; 3- Give space, value and perceive the freedom of the younger the creativity and ingenuity of their kids. Exercise: Sketching and painting on a big canvas on the floor, in a group, using acrylic, charcoal and ink. Giving an introduction to the selection process. Comparing their drawings with the ones of Master Painters, such as Dali, Picasso, Miro, Kandinsky, and witnessing the similarities. Exhibiting the final work at the Solo of Zena on the 26|05|10 Zena Assi: Born in 1974, Tripoli, Lebanon. Lives and works in Beirut, Lebanon. Assi’s sharply defined portraits of still impression elongated and often melancholic figures of young men and women call for attention alongside her cluttered cityscapes that are crammed with wires, television antennas and buildings stacked precariously on top of one another. Her canvasses are filled with interwoven lines set against bold fields of colour abstractions. Lines of varied width and texture swirl rhythmically beyond the picture plane thus echoing the sense of a dynamic energy. Zena Assi never makes preparatory sketches and instead begins by priming her canvases directly. The base layer is created using mixed media followed by adding different textures and materials; tissue paper, cloth, broken brushes to name a few. The result is contrasting layers of thick impasto. The artist often finishes off with a layer of oil colours which give her canvasses their peculiar, vigorous luminosity. “To fall short of perfection is not a failure but a process of erasure. It is the trace left by the ineluctable diminution that accompanies the realisation of the drawing.” - E. Schiele, painter “Those moments of heady exaltation which all creators experience and whose shorter or longer duration is the only thing that distinguishes the artist from the dreamer.” - G. Richter, painter “I used to hate it. Now I love it, this chaos we have here.” - Zena Assi PREVIEW VISUALS

El Rawas had participated in more than 40 international art biennales and claimed several prizes. His meticulous three-dimensional structures and mixed media works offer a complex visual and conceptual experience - compelling, enigmatic and vigorously challenging. He “quotes” images from European art, as well as from his Middle Eastern roots, which in their new contexts, remind us of the continuity of human creativity. El Rawas invites us to interrogate our experience of the world across time and cultures, through juxtaposed images and icons that shimmer with the contingency of the moment. Mohammad El Rawas is well known for his complex mixed media and assemblages. In his work “Each surface is carefully mapped out, divided into sections and ‘framed’ which suggests containment whether in form of dominant cultural hierarchies or proscribed spaces. The juxtaposition of different materials, their associated meanings, and the images work to subvert these constrictions in various ways and to introduce contradiction.” (Fran Lloyd, from the artist’s exhibition catalogue of his show at the Janine Rubeiz gallery in Beirut, November 2000) “Juxtaposing words and images, and visual iconography from high art and popular cultural sources, the work of Mohammad El Rawas expresses a fundamental ambivalence demonstrating both a dept to, and an ironic distance from, modernist traditions. El Rawas’ complex multi-media [works] speak to the contemporary experience of fragmentation that is at once universal, and, one suspects, distinctly middle eastern.” (Helena Reckitt, ibid) The talk is followed by a Q&A. Mohammad El Rawas studied painting at the Institute of Fine Art of the Lebanese University, and graduated in 1975 with honors, receiving the Lebanese University Scholarship to study abroad. The year of his graduation marked the beginning of the civil war in Lebanon, leading the artist to stop painting and to leave his country to Morocco where he stayed for two years in Rabat, teaching art and resuming painting. He returned to Beirut in 1979 to hold his first solo show before joining the Slade School of Fine Art in London in the same year. Upon his return to Beirut in 1981 with a Masters Degree in printmaking, he started his academic career at the Lebanese University and the American University of Beirut, that lasted for 27 years. Mohammad El Rawas also served for nine years as General-Secretary of the Association of Lebanese Artists, and is a founding member of the Syndicate of Lebanese Artists. Since 1979 El Rawas has held eight individual exhibitions in Beirut and London and has participated in more than 40 international art biennials and exhibitions in England, USA, Norway, Tunis, Brazil, Japan, Kuwait, France, the Netherlands, Egypt, the UAE, Poland and China. In these international shows he claimed five prizes and honorable mentions, including, in 2007, the Prize of the Alexandria Biennial of the Art of the Mediterranean Countries, for his first installation and video art piece. His work is found in many Museums and public collections in Lebanon, Tunis, Iraq, Jordan, Sharjah, Norway and England. PREVIEW VISUALS

Title 4 of the best movies by the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock Dates: |09 Feb|- Rear Window |16 Feb|- Vertigo |23 Feb|- North by Northwest |01 Mar|-The Birds Title: 4 great movies by Woody Allen Dates: |09 Mar|- Annie Hall |16 Mar|- Manhattan |23 Mar|- Hannah and her Sisters |30 Mar|- Husbands and Wives Title: 4 Comical movies by Charlie Chaplin Dates: |06 Apr|- City Lights |13 Apr|- The Kid |20 Apr|- Modern Times |27 Apr|- The Great Dictator Sumaya Kubeisy studied Communication Arts at the Lebanese American University and received her Masters in Film Production at Boston University. She was later an instructor of Television and Film at the Lebanese American University in Beirut for 4 years. She worked in television production with various TV stations for over ten years as a director and producer and headed the production department at Future Television in Lebanon from 1995- 1999, when she left the professional life to become a full time mother. Most recently, she worked with Dubai TV as a consultant to the team responsible for restructuring and modernizing the channel.

The purpose of this course is to develop an appreciation of film through the study of the fundamentals and aesthetics of this medium. You will learn the ABC’s of film language, which will allow you to better, understand and analyze movies by deciphering their symbolic and inferred meanings. The course will cover all the basic elements of film including cinematography, mise en scene, montage, sound, and narrative structure. The lectures will include scenes from various film classics, which have shaped the history of cinema. This course will help you to watch movies more critically, to observe and appreciate cinematic subtleties, and develop a more profound appreciation of the art of the film. Content: 1. Content and form 2. Light & shadow 3. Colour and lenses 4. Mise En scene 5. Movement 6. Montage 7. Sound 8. Drama 9. Narrative structure 10.Genre & myth Sumaya Kubeisy studied Communication Arts at the Lebanese American University and received her Masters in Film Production at Boston University. She was later an instructor of Television and Film at the Lebanese American University in Beirut for 4 years. She worked in television production with various TV stations for over ten years as a director and producer and headed the production department at Future Television in Lebanon from 1995- 1999, when she left the professional life to become a full time mother. Most recently, she worked with Dubai TV as a consultant to the team responsible for restructuring and modernizing the channel, and is currently a part time professor of television AUD.

TALK: THE GENIUS OF ITALIAN OPERA (EVENING)

For over three centuries Italian composers and dramatists have developed opera into a national art form that captures the changing facets of social, cultural, political and emotional life. Designed for anyone who would like to extend their knowledge, this course explores the development of Italian opera from the end of the Renaissance to the start of the 20th century, focusing upon some of the greatest achievements of composers such as Monteverdi, Rossini, Bellini, Verdi, Puccini and their contemporaries. Content: 1. The beginnings – Monteverdi’s Orfeo 2. Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Cavalli’s La calisto and the origins of commercial opera 3. The rise of opera seria 4. The development of comic opera – Paisiello and La serva padrona 5. Rossini and Rossini mania – Il barbiere de Siviglia 6. The Donizetti, Bellini and age of bel canto 7. Verdi and the dominance of historical opera 8. Verdi’s mature style – Don Carlo and Otello 9. Realism and verismo - Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana 10. Turandot - Puccini’s final masterpiece David Lesser studied the piano at the Royal College of Music in London and then the music composition at the University of Huddersfield. He was Senior Teaching Fellow in Music and Open Studies Certificate Cocoordinator at the University of Warwick (1993-2007). His music has been widely performed in Britain and Europe by Ensemble Aleph, Accroche Note, Linda Hirst, Ian Pace and others. As a performer he specializes in the music of the Twentieth century, vocal repertoire, and has given a number of world and British premieres. He is active as a composer, performer, lecturer and teacher.

This course concentrates on the elements and the language of Arabic Calligraphy through the visual elements (line, volume, texture, color, shape). Moreover, this course also concentrates on the recognition of the different forms, Styles & Types of Arabic Calligraphy. In addition, they well learn the History of Arabic Calligraphy, Materials & Tools of the Calligraphers. Objectives • To introduce the basic elements, principles and techniques of Arabic Calligraphy. • Students` creativity. • Developing the perceptional ability of the recognition of Letters and their Forms, Styles & Types. • Developing Preparing students to deal positively with Letters in Each Style. Exercises • Drawing by writing and lining, and making artistic shapes of Arabic Letters and aesthetic relations through geometrical and free forms, etc • Making forms, masses, and models (if necessary) Saleh Al Shukairi is a member of the Omani Society for Fine Arts, where he is one of the founders and active participant of the Calligraphy Club and the Youth Studio. Saleh has exhibited internationally, notably in Germany, Pakistan, South Korea, Washington DC - USA and the UAE, and the 11th Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh he received an "Honorary Award". He has participated in all calligraphy workshops in Oman since 1993, the largest painting in the world the Muscat Festival in 2000 and in Sharjah 2009 and in the Folk Festival organized by the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, USA, in 2005. Saleh`s work ranges from time-honored classical religious calligraphy to contemporary abstract work that utilizes this traditional art form. He enjoys experimenting with materials, colors and techniques to produce his evocative pieces. He has produced more than One Hundred Sixty artworks since 90`s.

This course concentrates on the elements and the language of Arabic Calligraphy through the visual elements (line, volume, texture, color, shape). Moreover, this course also concentrates on the recognition of the different forms, Styles & Types of Arabic Calligraphy. In addition, they well learn the History of Arabic Calligraphy, Materials & Tools of the Calligraphers. Objectives • To introduce the basic elements, principles and techniques of Arabic Calligraphy. • Students` creativity. • Developing the perceptional ability of the recognition of Letters and their Forms, Styles & Types. • Developing Preparing students to deal positively with Letters in Each Style. Exercises • Drawing by writing and lining, and making artistic shapes of Arabic Letters and aesthetic relations through geometrical and free forms, etc • Making forms, masses, and models (if necessary) Saleh Al Shukairi is a member of the Omani Society for Fine Arts, where he is one of the founders and active participant of the Calligraphy Club and the Youth Studio. Saleh has exhibited internationally, notably in Germany, Pakistan, South Korea, Washington DC - USA and the UAE, and the 11th Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh he received an "Honorary Award". He has participated in all calligraphy workshops in Oman since 1993, the largest painting in the world the Muscat Festival in 2000 and in Sharjah 2009 and in the Folk Festival organized by the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC, USA, in 2005. Saleh`s work ranges from time-honored classical religious calligraphy to contemporary abstract work that utilizes this traditional art form. He enjoys experimenting with materials, colors and techniques to produce his evocative pieces. He has produced more than One Hundred Sixty artworks since 90`s.

|06Feb|: Girl with A Pearl Earring by Peter Webber with Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson & Tom Wilkinson |13 Feb|: Modigliani by Mick Davis with Andy Garcia & Elsa Zylberstein |20Feb|: Edvard Munch by Peter Watkins with Geir Westby & Gro Fraas |27Feb|: Immortal Beloved by Bernard Rose with Gary Oldman, Jeroen Krabbé, Isabella Rossellini. |06Mar|: Pollock by Ed Harris with Jennifer Connelly, Bud Cort, Tom Bower & Annabelle Gurwitch |13Mar|: Basquiat by Julian Schnabel with Jeffrey Wright, Michael Wincott, Benicio Del Toro, and Claire Forlani

WORKSHOP: OPERA & SONGS: EXPLORING CLASSICAL REPERTOIRE

The human voice is one of the most expressive instruments, capable of portraying joy, sorrow, anger or despair. Western art music contains an almost inexhaustible supply of beauty music for voice and this course will showcase examples from the operatic repertoire and the song traditions of German Lieder, French melodie and English song. This practical course will present an informal opportunity to workshop individual arias and songs, exploring vocal technique, language skills, interpretation and presentation. Participants will prepare an aria or song to present to the class with our resident accompanist, whilst auditors are welcome to enjoy beautiful music and art in the stylish setting of Art Sawa. Clare Lesser studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, Birmingham University and Birmingham Conservatoire. Then, at the University of Sussex, she completed groundbreaking research on the music of B.A. Zimmermann. She specializes in the performance of 20th and 21st century music, and has collaborated with many composers on new works, giving over fifty premieres. She has recorded Lieder by Wolfgang Rihm, chamber music by Richard Emsley, the works for solo soprano and soprano with instrumental trio by Michael Finnissy, and many other contemporary classics. She has performed throughout Europe, including at the Edinburgh and Avignon International Festivals. She was nominated for the Royal Philharmonic Society Singing Award in 2003.

WORKSHOP: VOCAL PRACTICE | FREE YOUR VOICE

TALK: THE GENIUS OF ITALIAN OPERA (MORNING)