Back-ground
It is important to know this fact: after 1967, in an attempt to keep the Palestinian society subjugated, the occupation authorities banned two departments from local Palestinian universities: culture and agriculture. This fact enlightens the reader as to why cultural projects are perceived as acts of resistance to the current status quo imposed on us Palestinians by the Israeli doctrine of control. For 40 years now, Palestinian artists have been dreaming of the days when academies of art, galleries and museums would freely reign.

There has been a lack of understanding of the pivotal role that art can take within Palestinian society, a realization that exists within the mentality of the occupier and hence its constant attempts to stand as an obstacle in its way. Art is the vital mirror of realities and societies and a powerful intervention tool that effects constant change on the social, cultural and political levels. It is influential in its means of transforming cultural attitudes and outlooks.

Art needs constant development, empowerment and mobilization, just like any other field, in order to maintain the results intended for the benefit of society. Yet, this rich potential suffers inadequacy in a Palestinian context, where the occupation has become manifest even in our art and our process of thought and production, leaving it bereft and besieged. Cultural expressionism has long been a powerful tool in the Palestinian struggle; our aim should be to mobilize this potential in the direction of change.

The performance of the Palestinian sector of culture and arts was yet in its preliminary phases; the strategy had focused on providing a general multitude of dispersed activities and projects that mainly aimed at eliciting and increasing the interest in this sector. The time has come to change the Palestinian national stratagem for the arts and to cross over towards a more concrete developmental phase that aims towards institutionalizing those efforts and ensuring its sustainability. Naturally, one of its primary and vital projects is initiating an academy of arts specialized in contemporary and progressive modes of thinking and practice.

An art academy is a crucial tool for alternative thinking in Palestinian society. In this ongoing and important phase of nation building it provides a politically and religiously neutral room for expression, tolerance, cultural development, alternative thinking and a focal point unifying the population and the intelligentsia. The art academy will, moreover, maintain the collective Palestinian history and identity while offering the local population and the international community new images of Palestinians. In addition to enriching the structure of our civil society and also participating on a large capacity building scheme, it duly supports elements that have long been marginalized on the national agenda: higher education, culture and the arts.

Ground Work
A group of concerned artists and art practitioners invested a lot of hard work towards making this project attainable. Lobbying with authorities and the media, local anchoring, publicizing, creating partnerships and fundraising were part of the many tasks that the past four years have witnessed in the preliminary phase of this project. The Palestinian Association for Contemporary Art - PACA, which is a non profit, non-governmental Palestinian organization working in the sector of contemporary arts education, was specifically founded in June 2004 to pursue the project of establishing an academy of arts in Palestine. It has formulated a partnership with the Oslo National Academy of the Art (KHiO) in Norway, which has provided unconditional advisory and economic support towards making this academy a reality.

For the past four years, workshops were organized to propagate ideas of contemporary art, to elicit interest from the younger generation and provide a tool that gauges the needs for such an academy and its attainability. A seminar with key stakeholders was arranged in the launching of this project. Exhibitions in Ramallah and Gaza and internationally in Norway and the UN headquarters in New York were a means towards propagating the importance of an academy within the Palestinian context. The project was mentioned in 54 newspapers, radio and television channels in Norway and in Palestine in the past year alone. The need was founded and the drive was there.

Ground Plan
Four years later, we are ready to start with the implementation phase of this project, especially after receiving core funding for the next three years of the establishment phase from the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We also have signed memorandums of understanding with the Palestinian Ministry of Culture which duly recognizes and prioritizes this project on its national agenda. PACA has been able to secure strong local anchoring in the local sector amidst the variety of art institutions available and has created a long-lasting partnership with its Norwegian counterpart, KHiO.

This project is essentially an institution-building project which requires many simultaneous processes to end up with the desired academy. The main objective is to establish a visual arts department that provides an art education programme at the bachelor degree level (BA), while guaranteeing that it conforms to the international Bologna agreement. The aim is to admit 8-12 students annually, with an increasing number that hopefully will rise to 20 students per year. To do that, PACA has to start with submitting an application to the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education and follow up with all its accreditation processes.

The implementation phase was launched in August 2006 by moving into new premises, the renowned house of the Palestinian historian Aref Al-Aref, known as Gallery 79. The place has undergone some basic refurbishment, such as building the first white cube multipurpose room in Ramallah, and the setting up of a computer lab with state-of-the-art equipment. Simultaneously, we are formulating a competent and specialized staff and administration capable of carrying out this project to its fullest.

Immediate action has taken place to start with the accreditation systems, such as carrying out field researches, surveys and feasibility studies and, most importantly, the formulation of an arts curriculum according to local and international standards. This study plan is primarily Palestinian and is anchored within an Arab and Middle Eastern context. Content will vary and include everything from philosophy, visual and cultural theory and politics to ground studio practice and technical training.

Fundraising is essential and equally important to this project, which needs to ensure its long-term sustainability. A building that will host this educational facility is needed. Library, digital art labs, workshop spaces and studios for the students all need to be founded. Capacity-building is necessary and scholarships should be provided for our potential future staff. In addition, this academy strives to provide free learning to its students, while yet maintaining its free-affiliation policy.

Ultimately, this institution seeks to educate, and will do so through an experimental programme of teaching which will start in September 2007. Registration for students will ensue the following summer on a trial workshop basis. A fifth of the content will be focused on theory and a third on individual studio practice. Tutorials, training seminars and exhibitions will also take place. In the end, we will aim at providing them with the necessary accreditation for their involvement within this learning process.

From the Ground Up
It is prime time we allowed the cultural scene to take its proper place and utilize its potential of effecting change and, therefore, becoming a powerful tool in the social and political decision-making processes in our society. Support for an art education can contribute to enhanced cultural awareness and self-respect. Creating an academy of art, with all that it embodies and holds from symbolic meanings of favouring progressive thinking, needs to become a priority for Palestine. This academy will encapsulate many values, most importantly that of freedom, which begins with expression, acceptance and action. It will hold within its walls a line of teaching of contemporary art that is based on promoting ideas of social and political engagement and issues that are relevant for strengthening our society. Culture has a role in shaping the Palestinian national identity and struggle; it should now participate in the task of shaping its future.

Reem Fadda is a Palestinian curator and the Director of the Palestinian Association for Contemporary Art - PACA. She can be reached at reemfadda@gmail.com.