[Nettime-bold] Museum will show Arab-Canadian art was->THE 'POSTPONEMENT' OF EXHIBITION ON ARAB-CANADIAN ART

["George(s) Lessard" <media@web.net>]

This exhibition is already back on track and will be presented...
The Museum of Civilization's web page
www.civilization.ca

Museum will show Arab-Canadian art
Reverses earlier decision not to show
  JENNIFER DITCHBURN
Canadian Press
Friday, September 28, 2001
HULL, Que. (CP) - The Canadian Museum of Civilization has reversed itself
and will hold an exhibit of Arab-Canadian art starting Oct. 19. Museum
director Victor Rabinovitch announced the decision Friday at a hastily
called news conference. The exhibit, entitled Lands Within Me, involves
work from 26 Canadian artists of Arab origin. The central theme is the
experience of people emigrating from the Middle East to Canada. Earlier
this week, Prime Minister Jean Chretien tore a strip off the museum in the
Commons after it announced it was postponing the exhibit which was to open
after an Oct. 18 gala reception. The museum, which had planned the exhibit
for five years, said it felt the delay was needed to give it time to add
historical context on the Arab world to the exhibit in light of terrorist
attacks on the United States. Chretien said that was the "wrong decision."
"I've been informed they want to do the exhibition in the month of March -
if it is good for March 2002, it is good for October 2001," said Chretien,
who received a standing ovation from members of all parties in the
Commons. © Copyright 2001 The Canadian Press

PM right to blast museum's plans
 
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
In the face of well-deserved rebukes from politicians, artists and
citizens whose moral compass remained true at this time of stress,
Canadian Museum of Civilization officials on Friday hastily reversed a
bone-headed decision to delay an exhibit by 26 Arab-Canadian artists. It's
impossible to comprehend the thinking behind the move by museum director
Victor Rabinovitch and his board to try to put off until spring 2002 an
exhibit that has been five years in the making and was scheduled to open
Oct. 19. Their proffered excuse -- that museum curators wanted to add
"context" to the works, given the recent terrorist strikes against U.S.
cities -- was pathetically lame at best. As Prime Minister Jean Chretien
said of the exhibit, amid a rare display of unanimous agreement on an
issue by MPs of all parties in the Commons: "It was the wrong decision
that was made ... If it is good for March 2002, it is good for October
2001." No matter how one looks at it, Rabinovitch and the museum board
laid to waste the concept of freedom of expression, which surely must
remain among the dearest tenets held by those in their position. Not only
that. Their gutless move to postpone a show by a group of artists who
share nothing in common with the heinous terrorists but the region of
their birth went against everything that Chretien and U.S. President
George Bush had stressed since the start of the crisis. Little wonder that
Chretien, who made time to attend a mosque in the wake of the beating of
an Arabic teenager in Ottawa to admit that he "was ashamed as prime
minister" that such a moronic "retaliation" act would happen in Canada,
was so uncharacteristically decisive in calling Rabinovitch and the museum
to task. In essence, their decision pandered to the politics of fear. It
had nothing to do with artistic merit. Good for Chretien, MPs and others
with a sense of justice for insisting on fair treatment of Canadians with
Muslim and Arab roots. As Heritage Minister Sheila Copps said: "It
certainly makes no sense, when we are trying to build bridges, to send a
message that seems to burn them." © Copyright  2001 Saskatoon StarPhoenix

On 26 Sep 2001, / from / via / thanks to, by way of Michael Century <info@e-
flux.com>  
 writing on Subject: <nettime> THE 'POSTPONEMENT' OF EXH

> 
> "Ces pays qui m'habitent/ The Lands Within Me", presenting the work of thirty
> Arab-Canadian artists at the Museum of Civilization, Hull, is to be òpostponed"
> until further notice. As participants in the exhibition, we voice our concern
> and outrage at this decision which was received this week with very short
> notice. The planned opening date  was Oct. 28th.
> 
> Exhibition preparations have been going on for five years. We have no doubt that
> the tragic events that took place on the September 11th in New York and
> Washington are in direct correspondence to the decision. A few days prior to
> that the Museum sent all the artists letters requesting a list of invitees and
> affirming the opening date (copies available upon request).
> 
> We believe that the decision was a political one. It is unfortunate that in this
> time of backlashes and a rise of racist attacks against members of our
> community, a federal government institution (one of the largest public museums
> in Canada) is assuming such an unproductive and unsupportive position.
> 
> In the midst of this recent wave of racism and intolerance governmental
> agencies and politicians are conducting various campaigns of cultural
> awareness and tolerance. It is troubling that the Museum of Civilization is
> taking exactly the opposite stance. It is postponing an important and unique
> cultural event that has the potential to counteract some of the prejudices that
> our community has so long endured.
> 
> The Museum has indicated that the purpose of the postponement is to provide a
> "context" for the exhibition in light of anti-Arab sentiment following the
> attacks on the U.S. on September 11th. We stress that this kind of "spin
> control" actually encourages such a sentiment by anticipating a racist response
> from the audience.
> 
> We firmly believe that cultural events such as this have a important
> educational and humanitarian role, and that they are needed at times like
> this more then ever. By postponing or canceling such an important exhibition,
> the Museum sends a message with grave implications, for example;
> 
> 1) that any event involving Arab culture needs to be "spin-controlled".
> 
> 2) that any present or future event conducted by or for the Arab-Canadian
> community is liable to be a security risk.
> 
> 3) the assumption that all Canadians hold a position of antagonism towards
> the Arab-Canadian community, hence the risk of low attendance.
> 
> 4) or simply the assumption could be made that bias, punitive, and racist
> collective measures have been approved by the Museum of Civilization's board of
> directors.
> 
> We believe that the Museum needs to stand up and show support for the
> Arab-Canadian community and to exhibit the exemplary art works made by
> Arab-Canadian artists. This will help bridge the divide between Canadians and
> will assist in bringing about an understanding between the Arab-Canadian and
> other communities. WE ASK THAT THE MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION RECONSIDER THE
> 'POSTPONEMENT' OF THIS EXHIBITION OR TO RESCHEDULE IT AT THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE
> DATE.
> 
> WE REQUEST ALL WHO SUPPORT US TO CONTACT THE MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION AND VOICE
> THEIR CONCERNS @:
> 
> Dr. Victor Rabinovitch
> President and Chief Executive Officer
> (819) 776-7116
> victor.rabinovitch@civilization.ca
> Pierre Pontbriand
> Vice President
> (819) 776-8515
> pierre.pontbriand@civilization.ca
> Louise Dubois
> Corporate Secretary and Director General, Strategic Planning
> (819) 776-7115
> louise.dubois@civilization.ca
> Dr. Stephen Inglis
> Director General
> (819) 776-8239
> stephen.inglis@civilization.ca
> 
> Sincerely,
> Rawi Hage (exhibition artist) Montreal, rawi@sympatico.ca
> Jayce Salloum (exhibition artist) Vancouver, jsalloum@aol.com
> Laura Marks (writer/critic), Ottawa, laura_marks@carleton.ca
> --------------------------------------------------------------
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