Mentorship Traces in the Archive | Case: Marwan Kassab Bachi and Gazan Artists

Ala Younis

al Mawrid Arab Center for the Study of Art, NYU Abu Dhabi

April 10, 2025

The exhibitions of Marwan Kassab-Bachi (1934–2016), organized by Darat al Funun in Amman in 1996 and 1998, provided the Berlin-based Syrian artist with an expanded platform to connect deeply with artists from the region. He participated in various public events, including a book launch with writer Abdul Rahman Munif in 1996 and a panel discussion with Jörn Merkert, then the director of the Berlinische Galerie, in 1998. At these events, artists and intellectuals from the region were present and had the opportunity to meet the artists further in private gatherings. These interactions facilitated an invitation for Marwan to present his work in exhibitions in Palestine. His first exhibition occurred at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre in Ramallah in 1997, followed by another at Birzeit University in 1998. For the latter, Marwan donated a collection of over 50 original works, designating it as a gift "to the Children of Palestine." This donation inspired the establishment of a dedicated hall for contemporary artworks at Birzeit University, which also organized a travelling exhibition in 1999, showcasing selected paintings and etchings at the Arts and Crafts Village in Gaza City.

A publication with the same title was released in 1997, featuring images of all the donated works, including the artist's studies of heads created using various techniques such as watercolour, Chinese ink, hand printing, and lithography on paper. The cover displayed a reproduction of an etching produced by the artist in 1970, which was part of an edition of 30 prints that resemble his painting, Three Palestinian Boys (1970), now held in the Barjeel Art Collection. In his talk in 1998, Marwan guided the audience through a slide presentation of different works, commenting on Three Palestinian Boys as a depiction of the young individuals who joined the Palestinian revolution in the late 1960s, whose images had appeared in the media since then. The work exists in many formats, including a painting that is a study of the same artwork created in the same year and an etching printed version, a reproduction of which was printed on the cover of the 1997 catalogue. 

The archive also contains documents related to Marwan Kassab-Bachi's Summer Academy, launched by Darat al Funun in 1999. The Academy invited young Arab artists to work under Marwan's guidance in September 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2003. As a member of the Akademie der Künste and a professor at the Berlin College of Fine Arts, the experienced artist could engage emerging talents in discussions about international art practices and theories. At the same time, he remained faithful to the questions of the region and the art education possible in it.

Students applied to join the Academy by submitting a form with their information, a personal statement, and images of their work. Marwan's papers and the archive of Darat al Funun – The Khalid Shoman Foundation in Amman include documents, correspondence, photos, and press clippings related to the Academy. For instance, correspondence illustrates how the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre in Ramallah assisted in locating and encouraging young Palestinian artists to apply for the program. Applications required artists to complete a form with their name, nationality, date and place of birth, permanent address, and a biography detailing their educational and professional qualifications. The Academy also required slides or photographs documenting the stages of the applicants' artworks.

The Sakakini was able to convince artists Mohammed Al-Hawajri, Raed Issa, and Mohamed Abusal to submit an application for the inaugural edition in 1999. 

Three years earlier, in 1996, Al-Hawajri, along with Mohamed Dabous and Raed Issa, was part of the "Liberated Colors Group." This group worked on a collaborative Japanese-Palestinian project focused on painting murals in schools and public spaces in Gaza. This collaboration helped Al-Hawajri, Raed Issa, and Mohamed Abusal strengthen their connections, especially since they all lived in the Bureij refugee camp.

In 1998, after the completion of the Japanese-Palestinian project, the group began collaborating with the Young Journalist Club, founded by the late journalist Ghassan Radwan. That same year, Al-Hawajri, Issa, and others created "Jerusalem is a Bridge for Return," which became the largest mural in the Gaza Strip. This mural was unveiled during a significant Nakba Remembrance Day event. Hawajri, Issa and Abusal sent a joint artist statement in the form of a letter that travelled from the Al Bureij refugee camp in Gaza to arrive at Darat al Funun in Amman finally. The letter read,

We are young artists from the same country, the same land, and the same neighbourhood. All of us are from the Bureij refugee camp, located in the heart of Gaza. Our shared place and a common artistic sensibility unite us. We love art and learn it through intuition and practice. Despite pursuing university degrees in fields unrelated to art, our passion has always been for art.

We are deeply interested in exhibitions, museums, and everything about art and artists that is shared through media and other outlets. None of us holds an academic degree in art. Still, we studied the principles of artistic design (graphics and oil painting) through courses at an association under the guidance of the artist Fayeq Al-Sarsawi. We also studied children's book illustrations for 30 hours under the French artist Daniel Maja and mural painting using colours under the Japanese artist Kimitani for several months.

We are always eager to gain more artistic knowledge and cultural understanding. We rushed to register and join when we heard about this unique program. We hope you accept us as students so we can learn from you and contribute to our community with the knowledge we gain.

The artists also sent photographs of their early works and the murals they painted alongside other Gazan artists. One photograph featured the three artists, joined by artist Sohail Salem, as they received honorary recognition for their contributions to the Japanese-Palestinian project in 1996. These pictures were arranged to create a panoramic presentation titled Jerusalem is a Bridge for Return (1998), among others. The form they completed had the heading of the Khalil Sakakini Center. Still, it was noted that the Summer Academy was organized by Darat al Funun, providing a local reference for the young artists who would be travelling outside of Palestine for the first time in 1999.

The three artists received acceptance and an invitation to travel to Amman to work under Marwan, along with twelve other artists from Jordan and Syria. The participants' works evolved in form, themes, and colours, influenced by Marwan's teaching. All materials were selected by Marwan and provided by Darat al Funun. A faxed letter from Marwan Kassab-Bachi was sent from his address in Berlin to Ali Maher, the director of Darat al Funun, on July 22, 1999. The letter read,

Upon their arrival in Amman, the artists began working in the studio throughout the course. Marwan provided daily supervision and offered direct feedback and guidance throughout the month. Conducting the teaching and communication in Arabic was beneficial for the participants, who forged friendships with fellow artists from the region and gained experience in painting, printmaking, and installation. 

At the end of the workshop, the resulting artworks were exhibited, providing opportunities for sales. The artists took the remaining works home, which were then showcased in local exhibitions. The press also covered the Academy and frequently quoted Marwan, who reported to the directorship of Darat al Funun as well as its founding institution, the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation,

The enthusiasm created by the inaugural edition of the Academy led to another three editions in 2000, 2001, and 2003. In 2000, Mohammed Al-Hawajri returned to Amman with fellow Gazan and Palestinian artists, joining a group that had expanded to include artists from Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, who all appear in a series of group photos that exist both in Marwan Kassa Bachi Collection at al Mawrid and Darat al Funun's archive. It shows him in group critique sessions with participants displaying their works on a table or the floor. He pointed to the artworks with a stick and discussed his insights. Artists would further rework their pieces or produce new ones towards the final show. Then they took off with the works and a certificate of participation, and many times, Marwan wrote statements on his students' works to be published in their future exhibition publications. 

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The knowledge and experience offered by the Summer Academy helped the groups think about self-organizing exhibitions and workshops, inviting female artists like Dina Matar to join the group. Meanwhile, Gaza became isolated from the world due to imposed restrictions on travel and importing and exporting goods, including art supplies that artists had to revert to creative ways and foundational knowledge to replenish or find ways to bring stock with them from when they managed to travel. 

Until his death, Marwan maintained contact with his students, who organized an exhibition of his works at Eltiqa Artists House in 2010. The hall was filled with artworks and visitors when an emotional Marwan addressed the audience via phone. The connection between Marwan's work and the Gazan artists is still alive in their art today.

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Artists partner Mohammed Al-Hawajri and Dina Matar fled with their children from their family home in Al Bureij camp in Gaza before the air strikes destroyed it. While temporarily displaced in a tent in Rafah, they risked sneaking back into their house to take jackets and essentials but were shocked to see some of their artworks under the rubble. They tried to salvage work and returned with some of their children to bring more work from the destroyed studio. They carried the rescued stacks and rolls of work on carts, then brought them to a temporary home in Cairo before settling in the UAE. Within the salvaged works are a series of works from the significant body of work produced by Hawajri under Marwan's mentorship in 2000 and 2001. 

Ala Younis is Research Scholar at al Mawrid Arab Center for the Study of Art, NYU Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. An artist with curatorial, publishing, and film projects, she often seeks instances where historical and political events collapse into personal ones.