THE EXHIBITION

Al Yemen al saeed: Arabia Felix? اليمن السعيد is an interactive art exhibition created for the Angewandte Festival, featuring multimedia works by contemporary Yemeni artists. The exhibition also aims to actively raise a certain kind of awareness about Yemen, which is lacking in mainstream media channels. It highlights the culturally rich aesthetic practices, optimism and resilience of contemporary artists and Yemeni people in the face of the ongoing war. 

The exhibition, jointly curated by the interdisciplinary* students of the Vienna Master’s Programme in Applied Human Rights at die Angewandte, features works by artists Somaya Abduallah, Asiim Abd Al Aziz, Maria Al Dhubhani, Osama Khaled, Ali Al sunidar, Nazar Moqbel, and Ibi Ibrahim.

Looking at the work of contemporary Yemeni artists and human rights research, the title of the exhibition offers a new take on a common phrase: Al Yemen al saeed, اليمن  السعيد,  ‘happy Yemen’, or Arabia Felix?—taken from the Latin origin and accompanied by a question mark. The gesture of the question is foundational to the project and forces reflection on the ongoing and persistent international media coverage of the crisis in Yemen. As is widely known, Yemen is now in the midst of  a war so devastating that the United Nations has called it the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. Simultaneously, examples of Yemen’s breathtaking natural beauty and timeless cultural heritage, although under protection of UNESCO, are in danger of being forgotten and thus lost in a Forgotten War, thereby disappearing from global consciousness.  

Against this background, we as an interdisciplinary* group of human rights students do not see it as an option to call a war “forgotten” but rather a call to remember Yemen while creating new forms of collective action. Awareness of the future of Yemen should not only be limited to the Yemeni people, but must penetrate the hearts and minds of all of us.

The collaborators on the exhibition therefore hope to provide visitors with a multi-faceted view of Yemen, drawn from the everyday hopes and experiences of Yemenis living in the country or in the diaspora. 

Al Yemen al saeed: Arabia Felix? اليمن السعيد offers a multifaceted vantage point through a diverse selection of artworks. Photographs, films, a slideshow and a virtual reality experience by the seven participating artists are embedded by the co-curators in an exhibition format supported by sensory experiences. The exhibition begins with a cup of Yemeni coffee at the entrance, continues with the dialogic format of the Diwan to reflect on the artists’ work, and extends beyond the gallery with urgent questions raised in the context of the exhibition and ways to offer support. 

The seven artists' works touch on themes ranging from youthful rebellion and dreams to the documentation of Yemeni architecture and traditions. What all the works have in common, however, is a deep expression of love for the Yemeni people, accompanied by the underlying question of how hope still survives both within Yemen and for those who want to return. 

Special thanks to the participating artists for offering their impressive works, to the Angewandte Festival and to local Yemeni communities for generously sharing their cultural and traditional objects.

• Generation 9 of the Vienna Master of Arts in Applied Human Rights  in partnership with ENTRE gallery

*coming from backgrounds in law, international relations, fashion, art & design, physical therapy, business, anthropology,  philosophy, information technologies and art education, including a master’s student from Yemen with a background in communication and media studies who initiated and led the project.

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Project creators: gen9ahr@gmail.com | Vienna Master: applied.humanrights@uni-ak.ac.at

Press inquiries or to schedule a visit: entrevienna@gmail.com 

Open hours: www.entrevienna.com