2015-MoMA-Tea-0047-Beatriz-Meseguer.jpg
2015-MoMA-Tea-0047-Beatriz-Meseguer.jpg

Tea Project with Ghaleb Al-Bihani & Djamel Ameziane


Gallery 102 at George Washington University

January 8, 2017 - January 20, 2017  

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Tea Project with Ghaleb Al-Bihani & Djamel Ameziane


Gallery 102 at George Washington University

January 8, 2017 - January 20, 2017  

Gallery 102 presents The Tea Project with Ghaleb Al-Bihani & Djamel Ameziane January 8, 2017 through January 20, 2017, in collaboration with The Center for Constitutional Rights,  Witness Against Torture and The National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms.

In the company of the full installation of 779 porcelain teacups, one for each individual that has been detained at Guantanamo, Amber Ginsburg, Aaron Hughes, and their collaborators will host events that allow audiences a role in telling the story of our current involvement in war and detention with a specific focus on the legal and human rights issues surrounding Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp, the Global War on Terror, and growing Islamophobia.

Alongside the Tea Project will be the works of Ghaleb Al-Bihani and Djamel Ameziane. Shown for the first time will be a substantial selection of the more than 100 works by Ghaleb, who has been detained without charge in Guantanamo since 2002 and has been cleared for transfer since 2014. Ghaleb, who discovered a talent for art in routine classes offered to detainees, told CCR, “Painting makes me feel as if I am embracing the universe….I also see things around me as if they were paintings, which gives me the sense of a beautiful life.” The Tea Project is also grateful to show three pieces of work by Djamel, an Algerian national who was detained without charge in Guantanamo from 2002 to 2013.

The opening reception and program, WORD FROM THE GRASSROOTS: Strengthening our Resistance to State Violence, offers a night of viewing, tea, poetry, and words from activists, veterans and legal advocates.Tea, served throughout the evening’s events, is not only a favored drink but a shared moment that transcends cultural divides and systems of oppression.


EVENTS

Placing the 779 Teacups
Sunday, January 8, 2017 | Throughout the day

During their week long fast in solidarity with Guantanamo detainees, Witness Against Torture will place each cup in the installation, one for every individual detained in Guantanamo since 2001. Each teacup is carved with a design based on the national or native flower, one design for each of the forty-nine countries that has had a citizen detained in Guantanamo, together with the name a detainee.
 


Opening Reception and Program
WORDS FROM THE GRASSROOTS: Strengthening our Resistance to State Violence
A night of viewing, tea, poetry, and words from the movement

Tuesday, January 10, 2017 | 7pm-9:30pm

Join us for a night of tea, art, poetry, music, and words by artists, activists, and leaders in the movements to end state violence that is perpetuated through indefinite detention at Guantanamo, police violence in our communities, and the institutionalization of Islamophobia. Speakers will share stories of hope and learnings from the front lines of their work. Tea will be served throughout.

Speakers:

  • Maha Hilal, Executive Director, National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms
  • Mariam Abu-Ali, Director of the Prisoners and Families Committee, National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms
  • Aliya Hussain, Advocacy Program Manager, Center for Constitutional Rights
  • Larry Siems, editor of Guantanamo Diary, a handwritten account of Mohamedou Ould Slah’s arrest and detainment
  • James Yee, former US Army Chaplain and graduate of West Point who served as the Muslim Chaplain for the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 
  • Spoken Word & Music by the Peace Poets and Warrior Writers
  • And more ...

Spoken Word & Music by the Peace Poets and Warrior Writers

 

Breaking of the Witness Against Torture Fast for the Anniversary of Guantanamo Detention Camp
Wednesday, January 11, 2016 | 8am - 10am

Join Witness Against Torture as they break their weeklong fast in solidarity with hunger strikers in Guantanamo.


SELECTED TEA PROJECT GUESTS & PARTNERS

Aliya Hana Hussain and Baher Azmy who advocate for justice and accountability through litigation and advocacy at the Center for Constitutional Rights; James Yee is a former US Army Chaplain who served as the Muslim Chaplain at Guantanamo Bay and was arrested and imprisoned for 76 days during which time he was falsely accused of spying, espionage, and aiding the alleged Taliban and Al-Qaeda prisoners; Maha Hilal, the Executive Director of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms and is an Islamophobia consultant for the Team Baluchi Defense Team and supports research on institutional anti-Muslim bias in the legal system; Witness Against Tortureformed in 2005 when 25 Americans went to Guantánamo Bay and attempted to visit the detention facility. They began to organize more broadly to shut down Guantánamo, end indefinite detention and torture and call out Islamophobia. During our demonstrations, we lift up the words of the detainees themselves, bringing them to public spaces they are not permitted to access; Peace Poets, a collective of artists that celebrate, examine and advocate for life through music and poetry. Their  style emphasizes lyricism, rhythm and authenticity. We hail from the Bronx and have been rocking the mic since 2005; Warrior Writers, a community of military veterans, service members, artists, allies, and healers dedicated to creativity and wellness. Art making becomes the creative tool through which we understand and transcend experiences of trauma and emotional disruptions that are not easily identified but constantly felt; the Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For over a decade, CCR has been at the forefront of the legal battle against indefinite detention and torture at Guantanamo, representing many current and former detainees; National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms educates the public about the erosion of civil and political freedoms in the society, and the abuses of prisoners within the U.S. criminal justice system especially after 9/11, and advocates for the preservation of those freedoms and  defends those rights according to the U.S. Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its related UN Conventions, and the Geneva Conventions.
 


ABOUT GALLERY 102

Gallery 102 is a student run exhibition space located at The George Washington University whose mission is to support student and faculty with curatorial and exhibition opportunities.

Hours: Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm

Smith Hall of Art
Department of Fine Arts and Art History
The George Washington University
801 22nd St NW
Washington DC 20052

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