Zawyeh Gallery is pleased to announce the first of a series of Open Studio events: an open studio by artist Ala Albaba in the Al-Amari refugee camp in Ramallah, Palestine. On Saturday, March 18th, Zawyeh Gallery is inviting the public to visit Albaba’s studio, where they will get an opportunity to inspect Albaba’s artworks closely and engage in face-to-face discussions with the artist whose artworks topics deal mainly with the theme of refugee camps as structures and Palestinian refugees’ aspirations.

The event aims to create a space that encourages interaction between residents of the camp, and the broader Palestinian public with Albaba’s artworks, with the opportunity of viewing the works that are in progress. Albaba started working in his studio in the camp in 2010 and the space soon became the incubator of his artistic career.

Zawyeh Gallery initiative comes as part of a larger project that aims to shed light on the works of several artists’ studios, through a series of exhibitions. Zawyeh will promote these works through its networks in both Ramallah and Dubai to support the artists and motivate them to produce and interact with the audience and their incubating environment. Alaa Albaba’s work focuses on the daily life in refugee camps, through which he reconstructs the camp, using vibrant colors that reflect his imagination, insight, and experience.

Albaba uses different techniques and materials in his paintings. He produced several surreal and expressionism artworks where he relies on research and experimentation focusing on the densely populated camps through various comparisons and approaches. He draws attention to the contradictions between the fixed nature of the refugee camps’ structure, with their modern ever-changing urban surroundings. Albaba explores different socio-political issues focusing on his relationship with the refugee camp and how it managed to preserve its political identity and form throughout the years.