DOHA: The Cultural Village Foundation-Katara, in collaboration with the French embassy, will launch tomorrow a solo exhibition of French-Syrian photojournalist Ammar Abd Rabbo, entitled ‘Aleppo’.
This was announced at a press conference at Katara yesterday in the presence of Katara General Manager Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti and French Ambassador Eric Chevallier.
“Through his outstanding exhibition, Abd Rabbo succeeded in depicting the tragedy of the besieged people in Aleppo. It is a manifestation of their daily suffering,” said Dr Al Sulaiti.
Chevallier, said: “As Syria is facing the worst tragedy, we shouldn’t forget the people’s aggravated suffering year after year and we should all shed light on the humanitarian tragedy of people.”
Abd Rabbo said: “I am honoured to display these photos at Katara which is a melting pot for all cultures. The photographs afford a glimpse inside Aleppo’s life more than a glance into its death. The exhibition illustrate people’s persistence on surviving despite challenges.”
The photographs show the eternal city of Aleppo, including its famous Citadel, and along with the pictures, Abd Rabbo shows the city in darker days, as it is today in the rubble of buildings and streets barred by bedspreads and rugs to protect people from snipers, especially children returning from school and fruits vendors on streets.
Thirty-one photographs will be showcased which document the extraordinary and mundane aspects of everyday life in the war-torn Aleppo, while the city is besieged and may suffer due to hunger and shortages and bombing like those in other cities in Syria. The exhibition was shown in Paris last November 14, in Alencon, west of France, last March, and in Mandelieu, south of France, in May 2014.
Five photographs were shown in Berlin, Germany, as part of a collective exhibition ‘My Voice Rings Out For Syria’.
As for Doha exhibition, one of the images were chosen by worldwide artist Banksy and was shown at his “Dismaland” project in England last August and September.
The exhibition marks the fifth anniversary of the Syrian Revolution, pays homage to the martyr city and its inhabitants. For five years, the Syrian population has been trying to survive and aspires for dignity and freedom.
It opens at 7pm in Katara Building No. 22 and runs until March 30. The complete programme can be viewed on the French Institute website: www.institutfrancais-qatar.comThe Peninsula
