Artist performance: I Love UNHCR, and UNHCR Loves Me
Join us for a collaborative performance evoking the impact of war on human life and culture. Presented in association with our current exhibition Palmyra: Tug of War, the Agony.
In this one-off performance at the Counihan Gallery, artist Fassih Keiso will collaborate with actor Steffi Gil, dancer Kady Mansour, actor Christian Houston, animator Ken Sabry Keiso and textiles designer Noor Sleiman.
Throughout the decade-long war in Syria, UNHCR distributed millions of aid blankets to Syrian refugees. These blankets were adopted as basic material for shelter and domestic protection, in the home and on the street. As a Syrian civilian, artist Fassih Keiso himself found multiple uses for the blankets, not only as bedding or reconstructed clothing, but also as floor coverings throughout his apartment, repurposed as if they were rugs.
I Love UNHCR and UNHCR Loves Me is a performance responding to these experiences. The performance challenges its audience to analyse their position in relation to international war and the continued destruction it wages.
Accessibility information
This event is standing room only as performers will move around the audience and exhibition space. Chairs are available on request.
The program is held inside the Palymra: Tug of War, the Agony. This exhibition is an immersive video installation that includes low-level or disorienting lighting, moving images and sound. Due to the varied sensory experience on display, this exhibition may be a difficult environment for visitors who experience sensory overload or light-sensitive epilepsy.
Please contact the Gallery if you have any access requirements.
Contact
Counihan Gallery
Phone: 03 9389 8622
Email: CounihanGallery@merri-bek.vic.gov.au
Further information
For program updates you can follow the Counihan Gallery Instagram page. You can also go to the Counihan Gallery Facebook page.
For more information, visit our Palmyra: Tug of War, the Agony exhibition page.
This program is free, but bookings are preferred.