Lisa Weeda Presentation novel Aleksandra

@ Bezige Bij, Amsterdam 10 26 2021

Zelfs als ik Aleksandra’s naam, haar vadersnaam Nikolajevna en haar achternaam Temnikova noem, mag ik niet langs het checkpoint. Ik neem mijn paspoort terug aan en wijs naar de brug richting Loegansk. ‘Toen ze werd weggehaald heette deze stad nog Vorosjylovhrad,’ zeg ik. De Oekraïense soldaat, die iedereen voor mij heeft doorgelaten, schuift zijn geweer van zijn buik naar zijn rug en slaat zijn armen over elkaar. De brug hangt als een in tweeën gespleten boom in de rivier, die de gesepareerde republiek scheidt van de Oekraïense grond waar ik op sta. De houten constructie, die al bijna vier jaar door moet gaan voor opgang naar het ingestorte wegdek, ziet er zelfs vanaf hier krakkemikkig uit. ‘Overal liggen mijnen, er wordt om de haverklap geschoten, ’s nachts zijn er bombardementen,’ bromt de soldaat. ‘Dat zeiden ze al.’ ‘Wie, ze?’ ‘Mijn oma. Haar zus Nina die hier woont, ken je haar? Mijn oudtante en haar zoon in Odessa. Ze zeiden: je bent gek.’ De soldaat schudt nog eens zijn hoofd. ‘Dus je omaatje, die jou hopelijk liefheeft, stuurt je naar een oorlogsgebied. Is ze mesjogge?’ ‘Het moet,’ zeg ik, ‘ze heeft het me gevraagd.’ [...]   

Copyright © 2021 Lisa Weeda 

Even if I mention Aleksandra's name, her father's name Nikolaevna, and her last name Temnikova, I'm not allowed to pass the checkpoint. I take my passport back and point to the bridge towards Lugansk. “When she was taken away, this town was still called Voroshylovhrad,” I say. The Ukrainian soldier, who everyone has passed before me, slides his rifle from his stomach to his back and folds his arms. The bridge hangs like a split tree in the river, separating the segregated republic from the Ukrainian soil I am standing on. The wooden construction, which has been going on for almost four years to get to the collapsed road surface, looks rickety even from here. “There are mines everywhere, there is every hour of firing, there are bombings at night,” the soldier grumbles. "They already said that." "Who, them?" 'My grandmother. Her sister Nina who lives here, do you know her? My great-aunt and her son in Odessa. They said: you are crazy.” The soldier shakes his head again. "So your granny, who I hope loves you, is sending you to a war zone. Is she jog?” "I have to," I say, "she asked me." [...] 

Copyright © 2021 Lisa Weeda

LINK read more (in Dutch)

LINK Lisa Weeda

Aleksandra

Lisa Weeda 

ISBN: 9789403130811 Uitgever/Publisher: De Bezige Bij 

Verschijningsdatum/Release date: 28-10-2021/10-28-2021

Met verbluffend vertelplezier en met alle literaire stijlmiddelen die tot haar beschikking staan vertelt Lisa Weeda een uitzonderlijke familiegeschiedenis, die begint bij haar grootmoeder Aleksandra. In 1942 wordt zij vanuit Oekraïne gedeporteerd en in Duitsland in de oorlogsindustrie tewerkgesteld. Haar kleindochter Lisa reist later… 

With astonishing storytelling pleasure and using all the literary stylistic devices at her disposal, Lisa Weeda tells an exceptional family history, which begins with her grandmother Aleksandra. In 1942 she is deported from Ukraine and put to work in Germany in the war industry. Her granddaughter Lisa later travels…

Link read and order this book

125th anniversary of NHA, Sofia Bulgaria

"125 Years of National Academy of Art in 125+ Frames" 

@ Academia Gallery

On 28 September 2021, the National Academy of Art will celebrate its 125th anniversary with the photo exhibition "125 Years of National Academy of Art in 125+ Frames". The project concept focuses on the development of a well-structured and well-thought-out exhibition solely through the use of photography as a document of its time, which visually restores, as far as possible, the historical picture of the institution during its existence. The research on and promotion of the preserved photographic heritage related to the higher education institution and its presentation in public, once again provides an opportunity for the expert and general public to get acquainted with its long rich history.

Link read more…

TRAKART PARK

Project 30 years of color and light

September 6, 2021 in TRAKART PARK - the new cultural space of Plovdiv.

Artists gathered to rally their creative charge, turning TRAKART PARK into a green island of contemporary art, in the contemporary art project "30 years of color and light". The project features established Bulgarian artists, co-ensemblers from the academician's workshop. Svetlin Rusev, marking 30 years since the completion of NHA "Nikolay Pavlovich" in Sofia in 1991 

The symposium includes: Prof. Desislava Mincheva, Prof. Ivaylo Mirchev, Prof. Atanas Atanasov, Dimitar Dimov, Eslitsa Popova, Valentin Uzunov, Ivan Hadzhiyski, Angel Kitipov, Stefan Petrunov, Stanimir Zhelev, Dimitar Yaranov, Georges Track, Valentina Bucharova and others. The works created during the symposium will be displayed in an exhibition on 13.09.2021 at 18.00 pm at TRAKART PARK, "Asenovgrad Shose "against "Agria ". The project is part of the official program of Plovdiv European Capital of Culture 2019 and is part of the "Heritage" program of Plovdiv - European Capital of Culture 2019 of the Plovdiv Municipal Foundation - European Capital of Culture 2019 / Plovdiv 2019 ECOC/ and with the media partnership of Radio Plovdiv. 

The exhibition will visit the galleries of Kazanlak, Lovech and Pomorie until the end of 2021.

LINK read more @ trakart.org

Kristin Theo Stuestøl

Until October 2 in Kunstgaten on Skjærhalden Norge

The pictures shown in Kunstgaten at Skjærhalden are abstract and colorful, but the color palette is dominated by a dark contrast. Stuestøl is inspired by the light in Scandinavia. Last year she moved to Hvaler, where she works from her studio on Vesterøy. She has been inspired by Hvaler's nature, because lately the motifs have turned to sky and sea. In this exhibition, images are shown in several types of techniques. There are both landscape paintings on canvas, but also material pictures on plates with rusty plates, skulls from porpoises and recycled textiles. In one of the series shown at the exhibition, Stuestøl has, among other things, used rags that have a story of their own. 

’All the rye I have used are made by my father's aunt. I ran upon them as a child in the cabin. As they were about to disintegrate after we inherited them, I asked my sisters if I could use them in art.’ 

The exhibition hangs until October 2 in Kunstgaten on Skjærhalden.

Read more F-B.No (in Norwegian)

Philip Akkerman

"Van Een Gek, Voor Een Gek" 

@ Torch Gallery AMS

Philip Akkerman has been painting exclusively self-portraits since 1981. Akkerman regards himself an everyman's artist; he feels that he belongs to a tradition dating back to the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, when a new art market emerged, where art was made by and for ordinary citizens. Created by an individual, enjoyed by an individual – or, as Philip says: “From one fool to another”. For this occasion, Akkerman turns TORCH Gallery into a home.

LINK Torch Gallery

Malta The Megalithic Temples

@ RMO Leiden

Malta has a long history and was first inhabited in around 5900 BC. The first inhabitants were farmers, and their agricultural methods degraded the soil until the islands became uninhabitable. The islands were repopulated in around 3850 BC by a civilization which at its peak built the Megalithic Temples, which today are among the oldest surviving buildings in the world. Their civilization collapsed in around 2350 BC, but the islands were repopulated by Bronze Age warriors soon afterwards. Malta's prehistory ends in around 700 BC, when the islands were colonized by the Phoenicians. They ruled the islands until they fell to the Roman Republic in 218 BC. The island was acquired by the Eastern Romans or Byzantines in the 6th century AD, who were expelled by Aghlabids following a siege in 870 AD. LINK RMO Leiden

Donchev wooden cameras, Bulgaria

Donchev wooden cameras

User: Arold van der Aa, Haarsteeg The Netherlands

 

Stefan Donchev, my father, a dedicated craftsman with more then 50 years experience in working with metal and wood, Ekaterina Doncheva, my wife, a very meticulous and patient person – our bellows specialist and I, Andrey Donchev, a carpenter and joiner with 20 years in the trade, whose love for photography and complications brought us here.

We have made a lot of beautiful cameras. Actually, I had a hard time making a choice. Still, I selected five cameras that we have produced over the years. Do you think I should have chosen a different camera? Let me know. Better still send me a photo of your choice.

LINK Donchev cameras

Ambrotype and tintype

Photographer Arold van der Aa 

Haarsteeg, The Netherlands

The invention of wet collodion photography processes in the 1850s allowed the development of two new kinds of photographs ambrotypes and tintypes. These new formats shared many characteristics with the earlier daguerreotypes but were quicker and cheaper to produce. Primarily used for portraiture, each photo is a unique camera-exposed image and was available in several standard-sizes. An ambrotype is comprised of an underexposed glass negative placed against a dark background. The dark backing material creates a positive image.

"I've always been fascinated by black and white photography... In my quest to find my passion for photography, I came across the wet plate collodion process that was discovered in 1851. Analogue photography on glass or metal plates... Back to craftsmanship and mastery. Read more on my site (In Dutch)..." Arold van der Aa

LINK Arold van der Aa

David Claerbout

@ De Pont through 29 August 2021

“The era of photography is over, and we are seeing a return of what Jean Baudrillard called 3D information, namely images that are augmented by narratives or statistics. While media dissolve into one another we are witnessing a return to the primacy of the word. Photography’s time as originating from light is over.” 

David Claerbout 

In disquieting video installations the Belgian artist David Claerbout (Kortrijk, 1969) tries to come to grips with the passage of time. He lengthens time, allows the present and past to fuse, and sometimes even seems to bring time to a halt. His latest video, Aircraft (FAL), will have its world première at De Pont this year. A fine moment to show video works, drawings and storyboards of his that the museum has been collecting since 2005. In the intimate environment of the wool-storage spaces, these works from the collection provide a unique view spanning nearly two decades of his artistic career.

LINK depont

Samah Shihadi

Born in Sha`ab, Palestine in 1987. She graduated from Oranim College in 2012 with a BA in art and an MFA from Haifa University in 2015. Shihadi is a Haifa-based artist, she had solo exhibitions at the gallery of modern art gallery in Umm Al Fahem and Machanaim art gallery. In addition, her works have been exhibited in many galleries and art fair “Galilee Paint 2”, where she won promising artist. In addition, Shihadi won prizes and awards from Pais Culture Council, The Culture and Sports and Ismail Shammout award in fine art. Samah’s works are in important private collections in Israel and abroad. 

Sameh Shihadi captures the annual rituals in which whole families would take part – regularly – before their expulsion in 1948. The infamous national Palestinian symbol of the cactus is a reminder of both dispossession and survival. Cactus plants used to demark plots of land plots belonging to village residents. These unique hedgerows are often the only visible reminder of the many hundreds of villages that were destroyed and ethnically cleansed in 1948. Shihadi’s paintings often depict the elderly of the village engaging in the harvest, while children innocently play in the emptiness of the land. Her tranquil and dreamlike scenes are often underpinned by painful memories and ongoing family trauma.

LINK zawyeh gallery

Lisa Weeda, Aleksandra

Lisa Weeda is a Dutch-Ukrainian writer, literary program maker, screenwriter, audiofan and virtual reality director. Text is always the basis of her work, but form is free. Ukraine, her grandmother's motherland, is often central to her work. Aleksandra is her debut novel. (In Dutch)

With astonishing storytelling pleasure and with all the literary style tools at her disposal, Lisa Weeda tells an exceptional family history, which begins with her grandmother Aleksandra. In 1942 she is deported from Ukraine and put to work in the war industry in Germany. Her granddaughter Lisa later travels to her grandmother's hometown and, on the wings of her imagination, meets her great-grandfather Nikolaj, who has been waiting for his daughter for nearly three quarters of a century. Together with him, she searches for traces of her cousin, who was murdered during the recently flared conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Aleksandra is the story of a family between East and West who just can't get away from an area that never seems to find peace. Lisa Weeda found the form and the voice to tell this poignant story in a grandiose way. 

Met verbluffend vertelplezier en met alle literaire stijlmiddelen die tot haar beschikking staan vertelt Lisa Weeda een uitzonderlijke familiegeschiedenis, die begint bij haar grootmoeder Aleksandra. In 1942 wordt zij vanuit Oekraïne gedeporteerd en in Duitsland in de oorlogsindustrie tewerkgesteld. Haar kleindochter Lisa reist later naar haar grootmoeders geboorteplaats en ontmoet, op de vleugels van haar verbeelding, haar overgrootvader Nikolaj, die al bijna driekwart eeuw op zijn dochter zit te wachten. Samen met hem gaat ze op zoek naar sporen van haar neef, die tijdens het recentelijk opgelaaide conflict in Oost-Oekraïne is vermoord. Aleksandra is het verhaal van een familie tussen Oost en West die maar niet loskomt van een gebied dat nooit rust lijkt te vinden. Lisa Weeda vond de vorm en de stem om dit indringende verhaal op een grandioze manier te vertellen. 

LINK De Bezige Bij