Syria in the eyes of Europe: An exhibition by the European Commission
Syria-European Union, Culture, 6/25/2001

The way the European writers, researchers, travelers and artists view Syria creates a colorful mosaic which bears testimony to Europe's diversity. An art exhibition on this these will be opened at the Damascus Khan Asaad Pasha on July 4th.

This exhibition deliberately follows a random course: it runs through time and space, disciplines and genres, idioms and styles. The focus is on contemporary creation and research, while it is acknowledged that any form of representation borrows from, and builds on, the legacy of history. hence the amalgamation of the testimonies of today and the documents of yesterday, which echo one another, shed light on the complex relationship between Syria and Europe, and event recount its most sombre moments.

Yet, one should allow time for this journey, entering its linguistic diversity, drifting along the Euphrates, losing one's way in the suqs of Aleppo, contemplating Damascus, discovering the Great Zenobia and Saint Simeon, and finally finding a meaning in the wandering of travelers. The immense wealth of Syria which dazzles Europeans still originates and aesthetics have changed. Visitors are therefore invited to react, in their own way, to this multi-faceted and contrasting world of imagination, and we hope that such diversity will capture their interest, sensibility and curiosity. This may seem a modest aim, but this exhibition was conceived as a series of glimpses, a mosaic which borrows a mere fragment of the artists ' work and passion.

However, this exhibition is based on the idea of the EU head of delegation in Damascus Mr. Marc Pierini and was made possible with the support, in Damascus, of the embassies of the Member States of the European Union, the British Council, the Center Cultural Francis, the Danish Institute, the Goethe Institute, the Institute Francis d ' Etudes Arabes de Damas, the Instituto Cervamts, and the Istituto Culturale Italiano; with the support of the Biblioteca Nazionale Italiana in Rome, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France in Paris, the British Museum in London, the Royal Library Albert I in Brussels, the Instituto Cervantes in Madrid, the Maison de L ' Orient Mediterraneen in Lyon, the Tareq Rajab Museum in Kuwait, and many publishing houses; with the personal contributions of Georges Antaki, Jenny Marache, Armin Marsloumian, Issa Touma and Julien Jallal Eddine Weiss in Aleppo; Mouna Atassi; David Baldwin, Giovanni di Girolamo, Peder Mortensen and Michel Nieto in Damascus; Levon Nordiguian in Beirut; Jean- Claude David; Christine Delpal and Danielle Stordeur in Lyon; and Diana Donatelli and Marie- Jose Hoyet in Rome.

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