From 14th – 18th April 2016 we hosted the first Prototyping Lab at Hoash Qandah – Community Art Centre together with local potters (from Hebron & Bethlehem, West Bank) and artists (from Ramallah and Berlin).
DAY 1 – FIELD TRIP
The first day’s purpose was to visit the workshops and urban environments of the participating potters (Bilal & Mostafa from Hebron; Faten & Amal from Bethlehem). The field trip gave us deeper understandig of the local context, skills and craftworks. We exchanged first smiles and talks over tea / coffee / lemonade and got to know the working flows, understanding the different clay versions, painted patterns and forms and their meanings. Meanwhile we used the time to 3D scan the original potter jars on site to be used later in the Prototyping Lab as basic material for the 3D clay printer.
Visiting Faten Nairoukh / Bethlehem:
Visiting Amal Ikrimawi / Bethlehem:
Visiting Bilal Salimah / Hebron:
Visiting Mostafa Fakhouri / Hebron:
More Impressions of the Field Trip:
DAY 2 – 5: PROTOTYPING LAB
After the field trip to Hebron & Bethlehem we met for the Prototyping Lab at Hoash Qandah – Community Art Centre of Ramallah Municipality in the Old City of Ramallah. A beautifully renovated historic building hosted us for 4 full days in order to explore new ways of merging traditional crafts and new media technologies (3D scanning, digital sculpting and 3D printing with clay and plastic). Participants shared both sides: artists were using the potter wheel and learning traditional clay methods whearas explaining and exchanging their knowledge about new digital fabrication technologies.
After five intense days the Prototyping Lab comes to an end – for now.
We learned a lot, we experienced even more and exchanged beyond language, culture and profession.
What we can already feel is, that this workshop was different than any other before! This goes beyond usual cultural experiences. It left a deep and oscillating impact.
We came to understand the context of not only the potters and their work in Palestine, but also the importance of identity and heritage and even more the necessity to promote new narratives internationally.
This fruitful workshop is hopefully just a beginning, with plenty more ideas, cross-disciplinary collaborations and inspirations to be explored. We are excited to have started this project, with all its wonderful participants, their deep knowledge and impressive skills.
More to come soon!!
Meanwhile thanks to Amal, Chams, Bilal, Mostafa, Hamzah, Basel, Christian and Susa for joining the Prototyping Lab: Ramallah! Also a big thanks to the students from University of Siegen / Birzeit University from the project YALLAH – you are all hackers, who joined us for a morning session.
Thanks to Tandem Shaml for this opportunity and support and Goethe Institut Ramallah for mobility support.
© all pictures taken by Jasmin Grimm, Christian Zöllner & Susa Pop
The collaborative project ‘Future Heritage’ will transform local heritage and knowledge for a sustainable, global society. We highlight cultural heritage in Palestine, which is fading and reproduce it in new forms and techniques to develop and promote it locally and internationally.
Future Heritage تراث المستقبل 