By Matt McDermott
Parents Circle - Families Forum (PCFF) is a grassroots organization of bereaved Palestinians and Israelis who have lost loved ones as a result of the Arab Israeli conflict. "Offering Reconciliation" is a traveling ceramics art exhibition organized by PCFF and inspired by the belief that art has a role to play in the process of reconciliation as an alternative to hatred and revenge.
Ali Abu Awad and Robi Damelin of PCFF traveled and spoke about the exhibition and organization in the U.S. throughout 2007. Cultural Chicago was able to interview Robi Damelin when "Offering Reconciliaion" came to Chicago as special exhibition of SOFA Chicago 2007 (Nov. 2-4) in association with AIDA (Association for Israeli Decorative Arts).
What is the The Parents Circle - Families Forum and how did it come to be founded?
The Parents Circle – Families Forum (PCFF) is an organization of hundreds of bereaved Israelis and Palestinians who have all lost close relatives to the violence in the Middle East. PCFF was founded in 1995 by a religious Israeli Jew, Yitzhak Frankenthal, after his son was kidnapped and killed by Hamas. Yitzhak understood that his son died because there is not peace and decided to bring bereaved families from both sides together to spread the notion of reconciliation in communities on both sides.
We are one of a handful of truly joint programs still functioning despite the ravages of the ceaseless conflict. PCFF members have chosen to channel our grief into the pursuit of reconciliation and understanding and promote this as an alternative to the fear, hatred and revenge that plague our region. Through various imaginative programs we communicate, educate and inspire more moderate approaches to peace-building. The members of the Parents Circle demonstrate that even though we have paid the highest price in this conflict, we can acknowledge the other's pain and
humanity rather than seek revenge for our losses.
How did the art exhibition being presented at SOFA Chicago, "Offering Reconciliation," come together?
"Offering Reconciliation" was initiated by the newly formed "Israeli Friends of the Parents Circle-Families Forum." Ms. Orna Tamir-Schestowitz, an artist and curator, created the prototype ceramic bowl that was then replicated and sent to the various Israeli and Palestinian artists. From
this point each artist embarked on a personal path, creating their own interpretation and narrative of reconciliation and all the values that stem from it - coexistence, pain, loss, rift and fusion.
Each artist presents his own unique reconciliation piece as a means of hope and art instead of hatred. Upon common grounds, the cultural and artistic differences between the two nations are clarified and illuminated, out of which a clear and apparent message is spoken: a basic existential instinct which calls out to let go of the hold violence has on us, in order to achieve a life of peace. The art works presented here contain many layers of history, religion and culture. All of these present the concept of reconciliation using shape, color, material and at times even words and symbols in a most unique and personal manner. There are some unifying themes which stem out of these works and create thematic groupings which are seen throughout the art pieces.
Did you have a process for choosing the 135 Israeli and Palestinian artists who created the work of "Offering Reconciliation?"
The artists were selected mainly by their prominence - we approached the leading artists on both sides.
Are there specific pieces in the exhibition whose art, or whose story behind the art, particularly represent the message of "Offering Reconciliation?"
Most of the bowls in the exhibit capture and convey the exhibit's main message,though prominent among those are: the artwork created jointly by an Israeli artist - Ariane Littman Cohen and a Palestinian artist - Hannan Abu Hussein. They attached two bowls and filled them with olive pits.
Another important work is the one created by Yaacov Guterman, a holocaust surviver who lost his son and presents two doves. Yet another set of the bowls uses fracture and mending as a way to express the possibility of mending the divides - by artists Micha Ulman, Arik Caspi, Ofer Lellouche. A remarkable bowl, by Mohammad Said Kalash, whose bowl is inscribed with the following statement in Arabic: "I would give half my life to change a child's tears into a smile."
What do you hope that people here in Chicago will take away with them from the exhibition?
We hope that audiences in Chicago will take away with them hope, a belief in the possibility of change and inspiration to make a difference in their communities.
Do you think you will do more projects with the arts in the future? Can the arts play a healing role even in an area affected by such conflict and loss?
Yes, we believe that art can and does play a role in inspiring people from both sides to work together for a future reconciliation process. We have witnessed this when the exhibit opened in Israel, attended by thousands of Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the diplomatic core from various nations; and during the exhibit's tour in the US, where we managed to reach Muslim, Jewish and Christian communities, which in many cases were not willing to cooperate prior. As to future plans, we are still hashing them out.
What are your hopes for The Parents Circle - Families Forum's future growth?
The long term goal of the Parents Circle is to establish a framework for a reconciliation process to be used when a peace agreement is signed. We are not a political organization and do not promote any specific party, platform or solution. But we realize that without a process of
reconciliation, no agreement could be sustainable.