First conference – (Respons)ibility
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at 19:00
Since its founding, the State of Israel has catalogued and sorted its residents, particularly those who are not considered its citizens. In light of the current political reality in Israel, following recent military operations in Gaza, and the radicalisation of verbal violence in the political discourse, a conference titled (Respons)ibility will take place ten days after the opening of the exhibition, Forbidden Junctions. The exhibition seeks to deal with monolithic approaches and categorical thinking regarding issues of identity in the national landscape of the State of Israel and the Middle East.
In Hebrew, the word responsibility (acherayut) contains within it the word [ach], which means ’brother,’ and [acher], which means ‘other’ or ‘different.’ It also contains the word [acheray] which means ‘after’ or ‘following an event or act.’ In English, the word ‘responsibility’ contains within it the word ‘response’ (originating from the old French [responsun] meaning ‘something offered in return’).
Without disregarding the fact that is is difficult to question the Israeli social system termed ’democratic,’ the conference seeked to deal with the issue of responsibility within the field of art and in relation to the Israeli political and social reality. The conference is born out of the desire to promote thinking/acting against the imposition of mores that mark the “other” as one that should be fought against. In addition, the following topics were addressed: What is the role of the field of art in the process of mapping the cultural collective memory in Israel? How can it create a new horizon of observing and resisting? How can we fulfil our commitment and responsibility to the “other”? How can we take responsibility or otherwise as producers and consumers of culture?
Among the speakers: Galit Eilat, Ronit Piso, Tal Ben Zvi, Miki Kratsman, Ronen Eidelman, and Dor Guez.
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