Emerging Art From War-Torn Syria: War & Hope
Contemporary Art by Prominent Syrian-American and Syrian Visual Artists
About
Exhibitions Project Description
Through this traveling exhibit, members of the Syrian American community--including nationally known artist-curator Tony Khawam—will share their art and personal stories about the impact of war, displacement and migration on their own lives and those of their families. At each exhibit opening, Syrian and non-Syrian community members will sit side-by-side for a dinner prepared by the Syrian Supper Club Women Immigrants, featuring facilitated dialogue. The dialogue will focus on building cultural understanding, dispelling stereotypes, and fostering interest in and awareness of the Middle Eastern community and the history of Syrian immigrants in the U.S., the exhibit will feature Syrian artists from the U.S. and Syria to engage the local communities by tour the exhibit to four cities in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Washington D.C. and New York City.
Through this traveling exhibit, members of the Syrian American community--including nationally known artist-curator Tony Khawam—will share their art and personal stories about the impact of war, displacement and migration on their own lives and those of their families. At each exhibit opening, Syrian and non-Syrian community members will sit side-by-side for a dinner prepared by the Syrian Supper Club Women Immigrants, featuring facilitated dialogue. The dialogue will focus on building cultural understanding, dispelling stereotypes, and fostering interest in and awareness of the Middle Eastern community and the history of Syrian immigrants in the U.S., the exhibit will feature Syrian artists from the U.S. and Syria to engage the local communities by tour the exhibit to four cities in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Washington D.C. and New York City.
Prior to each exhibition, invitations and announcements of the Syrian art exhibition and dinner will be shared on social media. An art catalog will be available for sale at the exhibition and online to provide additional information about the artists and the impact of war on their artwork. Also, video clips of the artists from their studios will be shared and the immigrant’s stories during dinner are meant to focus on the lives of Syrian immigrants in the U.S., not in Syria, to emphasize what it is like living in a new country. Video clips from the dinner will be featured at the exhibition and on social media for people across the globe to follow us and stay informed about this unique exhibition in bringing a community of Syrians and non-Syrians together to build bridges for cultural exchange and understanding.
I am an artist-curator, my hope is that this exhibition will build bridges between the multicultural communities of the four cities where the exhibitions will take place and help people learn to build cultural understanding, dispelling stereotypes, and fostering interest, awareness and connections of American-Middle Eastern with the local communities in each city.
Personal or Organizational Statement
Tony Khawam is a Syrian American artist graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and continued my education in marketing graphic design. Khawam stopped painting in 2001 after the events of 9/11, but picked up my brush again in 2015 influenced by the Syrian war that ravages my birthplace of Aleppo, Syria.
Tony Khawam is a Syrian American artist graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and continued my education in marketing graphic design. Khawam stopped painting in 2001 after the events of 9/11, but picked up my brush again in 2015 influenced by the Syrian war that ravages my birthplace of Aleppo, Syria.
Learn More: https://khawamgallery.com/war-and-hope/