Talk: September, 29, 2016, 7pm
Seminar: October 3, 6pm
Simon Fraser University
Goldcorp Centre for the Arts
149 West Hastings St.
Vancouver
We are very pleased to welcome Walid Raad as the 2016 Audain Visual Artist in Residence. During his time in Vancouver Raad will pursue research toward a new project by meeting with local specialists with knowledge on a heterogeneous range of topics, including human sweat, near-death experiences, meteorological measuring devices and Islamic art museums. In addition to a talk and public seminar (see below), Raad will do class and studio visits with graduate and undergraduate students. A solo exhibition of new work by Raad will be held at the Audain Gallery in 2017.
Walid Raad: talk
Thursday, September, 29, 7pm
Fei & Milton Wong Experimental Theatre
Over the last 25 years artist Walid Raad has produced an extraordinary body of work that examines the instability of documents and archives in the public realm, the role of memory and narrative in conflict discourses, and the construction of histories of art in the Arab world. Raad works in photography, video, sculpture and performance to engage with forms of storytelling.
In his talk Raad will concentrate on two of his long-term art projects. The first is The Atlas Group (1989–2004), which examines the contemporary history of Lebanon, and Scratching on things I could disavow (2007–present), which looks at the Arab art world alongside that region’s conflicts. Both projects engage how forms of violence affect bodies, minds and culture. This talk is co-produced with SFU Galleries.
Walid Raad: seminar
Monday, October 3, 2016, 6pm
Room 4390
In this seminar Walid Raad will lead a discussion about his resent research. This will be an opportunity to witness the artist’s process and encounter his ideas taking shape first hand. This generous approach reminds us that there is no formula for producing an artwork: an artist’s process may proceed without regard for established divisions between categories of thought, action, matter or discipline to stage encounters between research, politics and aesthetics. Raad pursues several parallel, sometimes intersecting paths. Where these paths “lead”—if in fact this teleology applies—is not always clear, even to him. His research spans inquiry into the building of the Louvre and the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi, labour issues, human sweat, WWI’s effects in shaping the modern Middle East, death, near death, forensic science, medical examiners, coffins, biological decay, Islamic Arts, carpets, dyes, wool, exports, designs and colour. The seminar invites participants into conversation with Raad along these paths of inquiry.
Space is limited. Please email AVAIR coordinator Judy Radul at [email protected] to pre-register for the seminar.
Biography
Walid Raad (Lebanese, b.1967) is an internationally known contemporary artist working in media such as video, photography, and essays. He was born in Chbanieh, Lebanon. In 1989, Raad received a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, followed by a MA and PhD in Cultural and Visual Studies from the University of Rochester in New York in 1993 and 1996, respectively. His work focuses on the recent history of Lebanon, particularly the periods of war between 1975 and 1991; it often deals with traumatic events using various mediums.
Raad is a member of the Arab Image Foundation, and is active in describing the history of Lebanon. He co-curated Mapping Sitting: On Portraiture and Photography, an exploration of Arab photography and its relationship to identity. In 1989, he founded The Atlas Group, which he uses to promote his work and get the message out on Lebanese history and war. It is a collection of films, videos, photographs, and other documents. The group is the brainchild of Raad. He has published several fictional books under the pseudonym Walter Konig, about the 14-year war in Lebanon. The goal of The Atlas Group is to create a fictional archive that criticizes traditional historical documentation methods and the autonomy of artistic work. Many of the fictional archives are featured in museums throughout the world. His work often examines the ways history is told, and how it can be manipulated. Some of his most famous works include Notebook Volume 38: Already Been in a Lake of Fire, BEY82_Artillery_II, and The Dead Weight of a Quarrel Hangs.
Raad is also the recipient of the 2011 Hasselblad-Prize, the 2007 Alpert Award for Visual Arts, and the 2007 Deutsche Borse Photography Prize. His works have been exhibited at Documenta 11 in Kassel, Germany; The Venice Bennale in Venice, Italy; The Whitney Biennial in New York; and The Ayloul Festival in Beirut, Lebanon, as well as other events and museums throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East. He currently lives in New York, where he is an associate professor at the Cooper Union School of Art.
Audain Visual Artist in Residence program
The Audain Visual Artist in Residence program brings artists and practitioners to Vancouver who have contributed significantly to the field of contemporary art and whose work resonates with local and international visual art discourses. You can find more information about the program at www.sfu.ca.
