The legendary Rahim Al Haj ( an Iraqi American oud musician and composer) with students from the Idbaa School…
Ibdaa School of the Arts is the first Palestinian visual and performing arts school in the Arab sector (Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem). Its students, presently aged 14- 17, come from the Jerusalem area and surrounding cities as well as from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. The audience is made up of art teachers, educational artists, theatrical teams, and professionals in different fields from all over the country. Ibdaa’s goal is to make a difference in how people conceptualize art in society. What is your interest in having an International Fellow? As an art school, we believe that the product of art shouldn’t limit itself to being a work of decoration but should be a state of mind and offer an inquiry about reality. Our art springs from our culture and traditions. As such, it is important for us to expose our students to artists from around the world. We want to make a difference in how people conceptualize art in our society and help the world t view us as a society that supports and produces art. What kind of international artists have been involved with Ibdaa in the past? Our building was once the home of the Jordanian King Abdullah the First and has often been a center of cultural exchange. We have hosted internationally known musicians such as Asmahan, Farid Al Atrash and the famous poet Ahmad Shawki and have works of art from Morocco in our collection. Who is your audience? What is your general interaction with the Jerusalem public? Our students, presently 14- 17, come from the Jerusalem area and surrounding cities, from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. In addition to the students, our audience is made up of art teachers, educational artists, theatrical teams, and professionals in different fields from all over the country. What kind of space and personnel will you provide your Fellow? Taking into consideration that the school is small and doesn’t offer large spaces, We will offer students from our school to assist in anything that our Fellow wishes to create. We will open the school to host works of music, art and dance. In music, we are proud to be the first social conservatory that has an orchestra as an after-school project. During the fall we participated in a project that trains students to play with broken instruments called “Calim Spurim.” We will be working with Sofia Borges Sophia Borges teaching at Ibdaa, April 2022:
