Selat: Links through the Arts
In the summer of 2012 the A.M. Qattan Foundation and the Prince Claus Fund (based in the Netherlands) launched, Selat: Links through the Arts, as a way to support cultural and creative initiatives and projects in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, as well as other initiatives that engage with residents of the camps. Selat has been established in a spirit of partnership to enhance cultural life in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, and to consolidate a connectionbetween cultural practitioners within the camps and their colleagues inside and outside of Lebanon.
The programme will run for three years and will offer financial support to both organisations and individuals. A select group of institutions will be invited to propose creative projects to help build creative skills and capabilities (especially among the camps’ cultural practitioners), raise public awareness of and interest in culture and the arts, and forge links between Lebanese and Palestinian artists, art institutions and audiences. The project will also award grants in support of young emerging Palestinian artists in Lebanon in the fields of the performing arts, the visual arts and literature.
In its first term, and in accordance with the recommendations made by the independent jury who were chosen to evaluate the submissions for grants, Selat awarded nine grants totalling €70,500. This amount was distributed across nine projects submitted by both organisations and individuals. The organisations were: Febrik, Al-Jana, Ghassan Kanafani Cultural Foundation, Dar Onboz, and the Al Kamandjati Association. Individuals grants went to: Taghreed Marwan Abdel Al (Nahr al-Bared refugee camp, North Lebanon) for the publishing and promotion of her collection of poetry, Sloppy Balconies; Wedad Mustafa Taha (Sidon, South Lebanon) for the editing, publishing, and promotion of her first novel, Lemon Tan; Sameer Muwaffaq Abu Qatma (Beirut) for the production and promotion of his exhibition Children of War; and Bishara Saleem Damoni (Dhabya Camp, East Beirut) for the production and promotion of his photography exhibition, Displaced. The grant-winning artists and writers collaborated with other experienced artists and writers to develop their projects.
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| Photography exhibition, The Displacement, by Bishara Damouni |
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| "Day and Night" project organised by Dar Onboz |