Eltiqa: How to Work Together?

More 100 artworks by the Palestinian artist collective Eltiqa,

Eltiqa (Arabic for “encounter”) is an artist collective from Gaza City founded in 2000. Eltiqa members have developed artistic practices together – including the setting up of a dedicated exhibition and workshop space in Gaza City, and supporting younger generations of artists through workshops, exhibitions and by offering a space to meet and dialogue. Eltiqa: How to Work Together? includes a selection of Eltiqa’s artworks spanning several years of collaboration. The works on display were collected from various locations worldwide; some artworks produced and exhibited years ago remained with institutions and individuals because of the difficulty of returning them to Gaza, other works were transported out of Gaza during the ongoing genocide.

Included in the exhibition is an annotated timeline that traces the history of Eltiqa – the collective’s formation and early days, their efforts at creating structures of support for themselves and others, and the historical, political and personal events that have marked their lives as a collective and as individuals. Through anecdotes recounted by members of Eltiqa and research conducted by The Question of Funding collective, the displayed narratives accentuate Eltiqa’s practice and survival amid political, social, economic and personal distress.

The exhibition opens with an evening of conversations on 5 Fenruary from 6pm to 7.30pm, begining with a panel of Eltiqa members Dina Matar, Mohammed Al-Hawajri and Mohamed Abusal in conversation with exhibition curator Yazan Khalili discussing Eltiqa’s early days and its role within the arts ecology of Gaza.

Following this, Yazan Khalili and Mohammad Abusal will be in conversation with Dr Martin Heller around cultivating support networks for artists, in the framework of the Lumbung Gallery Collective, set up to support artists following documenta (15).

The exhibition runs to 20 July.