Thousands of years ago the Fertile Crescent was a region linked by rivers in the Middle East, a cradle of civilization. It was a fertile track on earth, thousands of kilometers long, where mankind during millennia brought forth immense milestones. Innovation and hard work were the precursor of knowledge, prosperity, and cultural enrichment.
Those who today speak of Iraq, Iran, Israel or Palestine, without realizing it, conjures up a specific connotation. This region and the countries within, are today, if one wants it or not, linked with a specific undertone, an emotional value.
With FERTILE CRESCENT we bring artists from this region together, amongst others to show the other side of the fertile crescent. To bring forth the fertile crescent as a source of mankind’s wealth. A vast and fertile region, where beauty and being connected originates from.
Making use of the diverse array of the media and with the necessary professionalism, each artist demonstrates his or her unique vision of this fertile half-moon.
These artists are connected, just as they were thousands of years ago, a whole region that was connected by its waterways. Water, and not oil, was the source of all life: the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates, and the Jordan together with irrigation, developed over many centuries, brought prosperity. But also, problems. We know them all.
However, history does teach us that which today seems to be the norm, is not constant and it does not have to be so in the future. The present is solely the precursor of that which follows. Today we find ourselves, more than ever, at such an intermediate moment, not too distant from a world revival.
Let us make use of this special moment to look and listen, in another way, to words, images and signs; let us make use of this special moment to adjust our vision of the world and her future and adjust where it is deemed necessary.
Curator: Philip MARQUEBREUCK