Westbeth Artist Lecture Syrian artist
Rashwan Abdelbaki
Oct 4 at 7PM

WESTBETH ARTIST
LECTURE SERIES
Syrian artist, Rashwan Adelbacki
When: October 4, 2018 at 7PM
Where: Westbeth Community Room

Westbeth, the Greenwich Village “home to the arts,” welcomed today the arrival of Rashwan Abdelbaki, a Syrian visual artist, to the Westbeth community. Rashwan comes to Westbeth through the New York City Safe Haven Residency Program—an initiative led by a coalition of organizations working to safeguard free expression. Westbeth, located at the former Bell Laboratories campus, provides artists of all disciplines affordable live and work space.

The coalition behind the New York City Safe Haven Residency Program includes ArtistSafety.net, Artistic Freedom Initiative, Residency Unlimited, PEN America with Artists at Risk Connection, and Fordham University, in addition to Westbeth. These organizations aim to create a safe haven for artists at risk, providing housing, legal services, and artistic development opportunities in the form of a year-long residency. The coalition model was developed with the understanding that no single organization can adequately serve the needs of threatened artists. Each member institution plays a unique role in supporting resident artists. As part of the program, Westbeth provides several safe haven residency apartments and welcomes artists into its community of creators.

It is fitting that Westbeth, a crucial and historic nexus of the New York artistic community, should become Rashwan’s new home. A recipient of several residencies and fellowships, Rashwan is known for work that delves into the interplay of racism, religion, and politics through joyful colors and eye-opening portraits. Rashwan joins Kanchana Ugbabe, a Nigerian writer and visiting scholar and teacher at Fordham, and arrives at the departure of Hadi Nasiri, an Iranian visual artist. The Safe Haven Residency program aims to make at least three apartments available annually within the Westbeth community over the next several years. Each residence is being developed in partnership with organizations working towards free expression, within the context of social justice and human rights.

“We are honored to be a part of this forward-thinking coalition for a second year,” said Patricia Jones, Board Chair and Interim Executive Director, Westbeth. “Through the Safe Haven Residency program, Westbeth has a unique opportunity to build on our mission of providing affordable housing and workspace to artists from all walks of life. We are thrilled to welcome Rashwan to Westbeth, and aim to host artists at risk for years to come.”

About Westbeth
Westbeth, which opened in 1970, provides affordable live-work space for nearly 400 artists and their families, and work space for nonprofit arts groups at its historic site at the former Bell Laboratories campus in the West Village. An early example of large-scale adaptive re-use of an industrial building, Westbeth is one of the largest artist’s housing facilities in the world. It is also the home of the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, The New School for Drama graduate program, the School for Poetic Computation and other nonprofits. Westbeth presents work by its residents and other artists in its art gallery and at public events in large and small spaces used by painters, sculptors, musicians, and other artists throughout the building. For more information please visit www.westbetharts.org.

Artist Bio

One Eye Open: Paintings by Rashwan Abdelbaki was recently on view at George Mason University, School Art in Fairfax, Virginia. Recent solo shows include Little Syria at the Metropolitan College of New York, Light Up The Darkness at Dar Al Mussawir in Beirut, Lebanon, and A Moment at Al Hamra Theatre in Damascus, Syria. Abdelbaki was a recent IIE Artist Protection Fund Fellow in residence at AARome and ArteEast, and participated in the EFA Studio Program.

Rashwan Abdelbaki graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts of Damascus University, Syria in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in printmaking techniques. His paintings have been shown in Syria, Lebanon, the UK and the US.

The Fear inside all of us makes us always awake .. we want to close our eyes and sleep in Peace …

But in this crazy and complex world, at least we need to open one eye ..

to know what is happening around us .. to be ready for anything new ..

Striped .. like prisoners in our beliefs and our religions ..

To the defense of our humanity .. our existence

Lights up the darkness …

– Rashwan Abdelbaki