São Paulo – Photo exhibit AMRIK, on Arab presence in South America, will be on show starting next Friday (7th) at the ONA Foundation’s Villa Des Arts, in Rabat, Morocco. The show was created as a cultural activity during the 1st Summit of South American-Arab Countries (Aspa, in the Portuguese acronym), held in Brazil in 2005, and after touring several countries involved in the summit, it was donated by the Brazilian government in 2009 to become a permanent show at the Institute of Hispanic-Lusophone Studies (IEHL, in Spanish) of the Université Mohammed V – Agdal, in the Moroccan capital.
At the Villa Des Arts, the show will open officially on Thursday at 7:00 pm and continue until October 31st. The show was organized at the venue in partnership with the IEHL, according to information released by the ONA Foundation, the sociocultural arm of the Omnium Nord Africain, a Moroccan private equity group. The material has toured Ecuador, Colombia, United States, Algeria, Paraguay, Spain, Egypt, Argentina, Chile, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and some Brazilian cities.
The show comprises works by 23 photographers from South America. “This exhibition highlights the convergence of Arab and South American civilizations, the cultural mix which ensued and which is now favourable to the establishing of closer ties between the two regions,” said the ONA Foundation in a statement. Some of the photographs are from historical or professional archives and show immigrants shortly after their arrival in the countries in which they were to settle. Others portray marks made by the Arabs in Latin America, such as their influence in architecture or their work.
“Amrik” is how Arab immigrants used to call America as soon as they arrived in the region. Because of their heavy accent, they were unable to pronounce the name to perfection. The Aspa Summit was an important step for the two regions to establish closer ties, and keeps being promoted until this day as a meeting of heads of state from both regions. The second summit took place in Doha, Qatar, in 2008, and the third one will be held in early October in Lima, Peru.
Service
AMRIK – Arab Presence in South America
October 7th to 31st, 2012
At the Villa Des Artes of the ONA Foundation
Website: www.fondationona.ma
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
