Abed Abdi: Artist and Artwork
Abdi is a Palestinian painter, graphic designer, sculptor and art lecturer. Abdi became the first Palestinian to build monumental art on native soil. His allegorical monuments in Galilee, honoring human fortitude and resistance, include a narrative mural depicting Elijah’s defiance and survival and a bronze Land Day memorial.
Abed Abdi was born into a Haifa family in 1942 and at the age of 6 in 1948, he along with his mother and siblings were uprooted from their home, while his father remained in Haifa. After three years of wandering between Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and Syria, they were allowed back into Palestine as part of the family reunification program. Abdi initially learned painting and sculpting at workshops and then pursued academic studies at the Fine Arts Academy in Dresden Germany.
Abed Abdi has been promoting Palestinian culture, intercultural exchange and peace through art for more than three decades. He is an active member of the Haifa branch of the Israeli Association of Painters and Sculptures, as well as the Jewish-Arab Center of Beit Hagefen. Abidi constantly works to unite Palestinian and Israeli artists, and organize joint exhibitions and bringing the prospects of peace closer. Abdi founded the Ibda’ society for the promotion of visual arts in the Arab Israeli sector and Ara belle – Visual Arts Workshop in Haifa, for the promotion of the visual arts and intercultural dialogue through the arts. Abdi is president of Al Midan Theater in Haifa. He has been teaching fine arts in the Arab Pedagogical College in Haifa since 1985.
Abdi is also one of the first artists to integrate western influences and techniques within his work. He began as a figurative painter and later evolved towards abstraction. He held his first exhibition in Tel Aviv in 1962. He has exhibited in Qatar, Israel, Belgium and Bulgaria. He has participated in over 45 group exhibitions, among them the joint Palestinian-Israeli exhibition “It’s possible” which toured the US and Germany between 1988 and 1990. In 1995 he participated in the second exhibition for Palestinians and Israelis in Germany. His work appeared in the “Solidarity with the Palestinian People” exhibit in Tokyo, Berlin, Brussels, Belgrade and Athens. He also organized and participated in exhibitions with Israeli and Palestinian artists in Tel-Aviv, Haifa and West Jerusalem in the period between 1980 and 1987 defending the freedom of expression and creativity.
Abdi has played a crucial role in the development of Al Dakhel contemporary art and the creation of a new collective memory within his community through the building of memorial monuments and the circulation of prints through newspapers. In 1994, Abdi was one of the Founding Members of the Khalil el Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramallah in 1998. He has received numerous awards and has exhibited extensively in Europe and in Palestine. He currently lives in Haifa.
It’s Harsh it’s Beautiful!
Winter in Kashmir has always been a challenge for people to survive and this winter is proving it all right. With city unexpectedly wrapped in white, this winter began with a dominating note. Severe cold waves of Chillai Kalan cruelly mixed with power cuts , water shortage and road blocks left people mainly in city wondering what could be done.
Alongside the crisis that this winter brought, it also created an opportunity for people to show their artistic skills. From a regular snowman to a rather complex snow sculptures the social media sites were bombarded with works of people from different parts of valley artists and non artists alike.
Nadeem Mushtaq a professional artist from Tangmarg Baramulla was also tempted by the stupendous opportunity that snow provides and created some amazing snow sculptures with children in his native village Mohyan. As being a professional artist his sculptures were filled with artistic skill and creativity. Nadeem received a great deal of appreciation from artists and art lovers as he shared his work on social media.
