Author: DAAR - Decolonizing Architecture Art Residency

The Tree School is a gathering place for groups and individuals interested in learning from each other and in sharing common urgencies based on lived experiences. The Tree School could last for days, months or years depending on the participants’ interests. It is a space of conviviality and the joy of learning together. Learning under the shade of a tree is a common practice rooted in many cultures around
the world. The tree, is a living being, with its particular story and mythologies. Its connection with other plants offers a physical and metaphorical space for sharing knowledge.

The tree School is a temporary space based on trusting the knowledge of each participant that leads to unpredictable and unknown conversations. Being unpredictable does not mean being disorganised or careless; it is a way of learning to be open to the unknown, doubts and being exposed and honest. In the tree school we understand the conversation as the primary source of knowledge production and interaction. Conversations are ways to formulate thoughts and elaborate them collectively. What is at stake in the tree school is the possibility of unlearning and relearning. What constitutes knowledge? How do we unlearn modernist and colonial conceptions? How regain the right to learn from experiences and not only from books?

Ezwa

In the midst of the Gaza genocide, our search for belonging and support led us to Cairo, where we met a group of Palestinians artists and architects that survived the genocide in Gaza. A powerful termed emerged during our initial conversations, the profound concept of “Ezwa.” This term intricately weaves together notions of belonging, resilience, and relationships, offering a comprehensive framework for navigating the complexities of communal support. Ezwa encapsulates the essence of being part of a group wherein mutual support is not merely a response to hardship but an integral aspect of everyday life. Within this framework, individuals find solace and strength in one another, sharing burdens in times of adversity and celebrating together in moments of accomplishment. It transcends the conventional boundaries of family, tribe, or nation, emphasizing instead the power of friendship and trust as the building blocks of a resilient community. The emergence of communities like Ezwa highlights the innate human desire for connection and support, especially during times of crisis. By fostering spaces where individuals can come together, share their experiences, and offer each other unwavering support, Ezwa exemplifies the resilience of the human spirit and the power of community in overcoming adversity.

Moreover, the Ezwa community evolves and transforms itself organically as members invite others through friendship and trust, each bringing their unique experiences and perspectives to strengthen the collective bond. In the face of intellectual isolation, the significance of Ezwa becomes even more pronounced. It serves as a beacon of hope, providing individuals with a sense of belonging and connection that is vital for maintaining self-esteem and pride, even amidst extreme difficulty. Through Ezwa, individuals find affirmation in their shared experiences and solidarity in their collective struggles, reinforcing the belief that they are not alone in their journey.

The next tree school gathering will take place in the last week of September. If you’d like to join, please send us an email.

The tree school in Cairo is supported by the Foundation for Arts Initiatives.

DAAR, Burning the facade of the former entity of colonization of Sicilian latifundium in Borgo Rizza, Sicily. Photo: Rehaf Batniji

One of our goals at Borgo Rizza is to de-normalize its fascist architecture; to critically reflect on the very fact that this architecture was not demolished. Today, most of it is actually in need of restoration. And it’s almost 100 years old, so technically, it’s about to officially become Italian heritage. The trick that architectural historians have used to evade problematizing this difficult heritage has been to separate its formal aspects from its political, social, and environmental motivations. With our interventions at Borgo Rizza, we’re attempting to reconnect this architecture to the historical moment when it was produced, but also to reintroduce it into the present. At a time in which migrant populations continue to arrive in Sicily from former colonies (Libya, Eritrea, and Ethiopia), it is necessary to ask, who has the right to use this colonial–fascist architecture?

more

In support of the student movement for the liberation of Palestine and the reclamation of spaces for critical conversations and actions on university campuses, DAAR will visit the encampment at the Politecnico di Milano for an open discussion on the role of education in the struggle for justice and equality. This event will take place at 10:00 AM at the Leonardo Campus.

As part of Milano Arch Week 2024, DAAR will present a lecture on “Decolonizing Architecture” at the Milano Triennale at 6:00 PM.

more

ENTITY OF DECOLONIZATION
THIRD ANNUAL GATHERING
Borgo Rizza, Carlentini (SR), Sicily
May 6–10, 2024

Following on from the previous two editions of the Difficult Heritage Summer School  in May 2024 the annual gathering will encompass a week-long intensive program consisting of collective learning, interventions, and performances, rooted in the three core branches of the Entity of Decolonization: 

1. Pedagogy
2. Art and Architecture 
3. Commoning

This year the hosting institutions are the Municipality of Carlentini, the DAAS program at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, the School of Architecture at the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London, IASPIS (the Swedish Arts Grants Committee’s International Programme for Visual and Applied Arts), DAAR (Decolonizing Architecture Art Research), and Museo delle Civiltà in Rome. 

• PEDAGOGY

The Difficult Heritage Summer School III: Under Repair is jointly organized by DAAS, the School of Architecture at the RCA and IASPIS. Taking place in Borgo Rizza, the event questions and mobilizes the notion of repair around the possible reuse of buildings, monuments and environments affected by modern/colonial violence and exclusion. To do so, the School invites participants to discuss new approaches in architecture, design and preservation through the lenses of racial, social and environmental justice. 

• ART AND ARCHITECTURE 

 A series of artistic and architectural interventions will animate the proceedings, culminating in the bonfire of the art installation “Ente di Decolonizzazione: Borgo Rizza” by DAAR (which was awarded the Golden Lion at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale). The public performance is a ritual to liberate the Entity of Decolonization from its fascist ghosts, and to begin a new chapter for the realization of a “decolonial house” in the vicinity of Borgo Rizza. 

• COMMONING

“Casa Decoloniale” is a long-term experiment to cultivate forms of commoning that transcend conventional notions of “public” and “private”, “host” and “guest”, “local” and “foreigner”. Linked to other commoning projects initiated in Puglia (Campo Paradiso), Sweden (Summer House), and Palestine (Jericho), Casa Decoloniale is poised to materialize in the Carlentini territory in the forthcoming years.

Assembly at the Entity of Decolonization in Sicily, May 2024. photo Fabian Konokpa

We want to acknowledge that this gathering is happening at very difficult times. We find ourselves in an unprecedented assault on Palestinians, marked by a highly dangerous escalation led by the US government, coupled with a suppression of critical voices in Western institutions. We are entering one of the most obscure chapters of Western history. Spaces for critical conversations are closing down; we see the annual gathering as an alternative platform to continue our conversations and actions elsewhere.

more

For the inaugural issue of MMD, Journal of Museum Studies, DAAR reflected on the role that exhibitions have played in their practice. Special thanks to Anna Rossellini and Alessandro Paolo Lena for their engaged questions and careful editing of the conversation.

Exhibited Thoughts of Architecture, Edited by Anna Rossellini, MM Journal of Museum Studies, Vol. 1, No. 1 – 2024, pp. 097-115, “Exhibition as Site of Transgression: An Interview with Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti (DAAR – Decolonizing Architecture Art Research)” by Alessandro Paolo Lena

Exhibition as Site of Transgression, an Interview with Sandi Hilal and Alessandro Petti (DAAR – Decolonizing Architecture Art Research) by Alessandro Paolo Lena

Journal of Museum Studies 

April 2, 13:00 – 2024
École d’architecture
de la ville & des territoires
12 av. Blaise Pascal
77420 Champs sur Marne
Paris, France
more

April 4, 19:00 – 2024
Boulevard Art and Media Institute
at Destil Creative Garden
Bulevardi Zogu Pare 1001
Tirana, Albania
more

Over the last years, DAAR has started a series of experiments on commoning from the private. The practice of commoning should not be perceived as a static intermediary category between the private and the public; rather, it is an action, and living process. Commoning, as a verb, embodies a collective practice catalyzed by the agency and creativity of individuals, emerging from both public and private domains. In Western political thought, a distinct divide exists between the public, historically dominated by men, and the private, traditionally relegated to women for domestic unpaid work. Drawing inspiration from feminist emancipatory practices of commoning within the private space of the household and the Arabic notion of Al Masha, historically referring to undivided common land among farmers, we have initiated experiments in commoning as a form of collective inhabitation and sharing rooted in the private realm—the intimacy and emotional landscape of the house.

Our discussion will commence by reflecting on the very name of our practice, DAAR, which means “home” in Arabic and stands for “Decolonizing Architecture Art and Residency” in English. From its inception, we transformed our family home into a space of collective cohabitation for resident artists, architects, and activists interested in exploring the nexus between architecture and politics. Situated in Beit Sahour, Palestine, our home, DAAR, has evolved into the focal point of an extended community of people offering emotional and intellectual infrastructure to navigate life under Israel’s colonization, occupation, and apartheid. Moving on, we will examine Palestinian refugee camps as spaces of commoning and collective inhabitation—an urbanity of exile constructed beyond the dichotomy of the private and the public. We will explore how refugees have redefined the refugee camp from a mere humanitarian space into a political arena with distinctive spatial and political structures. In the latter part of the discussion, we will shift our focus to Europe and showcase recent interventions in the north of Sweden, where newly arrived refugees settle and reclaim the right to be hosts rather than eternal guests. The talk will conclude by sharing insights into two ongoing, unfinished projects in southern Italy. In Diso, Puglia, the practice of commoning takes the form of shared land, while in Borgo Rizza, Sicily, Italy, it manifests in the former entity of the colonization of Sicilian latifundium.

80% of Gaza´s population are refugees, their villages of origin are located just a few kilometers away. The Nakba, the expulsion of 2/3 of the Palestinian population in 1948 is an ongoing event of displacement. As its physical expression and material evidence, Palestinian Refugee Camps represent the suffering of millions of Palestinians. In a moment in history in which the population in Gaza is being either killed or expelled and homes being demolished, the right of return and Palestinian refugee camps remain a fundamental issue undermining peace between states, cultures, and religions.  The camp itself is the materialization of a crime and is in itself a question that calls for justice, land restitution and a change of power relations.

URL povezave:

Zoom: https://uni-lj-si.zoom.us/j/97674548133.

PDF:HERITAGE REFUGEE-(MA) FINAL X.pdf.

Before we begin, we would like to acknowledge our hesitation in engaging in this conversation tonight. The current repression in Palestine makes everything seem wrong and inappropriate. However, after discussions with numerous friends and colleagues at Columbia, we’ve decided to proceed to honor the struggles of individuals and groups against occupation, colonialism, and apartheid in Palestine.

We find ourselves in an unprecedented assault on Palestinians, marked by a highly dangerous escalation led by the USA government, coupled with a suppression of critical voices in Western institutions. Prior to our talk tonight, we were advised to avoid using terms like “ceasefire” or “peace” as they are considered controversial. The term “decolonization”, the title of tonight’s gathering is even banned on some social media platforms, curricula, and cultural institutions.

Columbia GSAPP Affirmations: Sandi Hilal, Alessandro Petti, and Denise Ferreira da Silva