Wael Shawky, Cabaret Crusades – 5/11/13

THE MAC GOES CABARET! AN EVENING OF FILM, MUSIC AND MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE
SATURDAY, MAY 11TH, 2013, 6:00-9:00PM

Come join The McKinney Avenue Contemporary in exploring the Middle East through music, food and film. Accompanying the final screening of Egyptian artist Wael Shawky’s marionette films Cabaret Crusades: Horror Show File and Cabaret Crusades: The Path to Cairo, The MAC will feature live music from Jamal Mohamed and Jonathan Jones with Mediterranean cuisine that will prepare film goers to travel back to the Middle East at the time of the Crusades. The evening will conclude with a casual discussion with Heather Hunt, Medieval Studies and Arabic language specialist.

Acclaimed Hand Drummer Jamal Mohamed joins Virtuoso Clarinetist Jonathan Jones to create Dallas’s hottest new instrumental duo “Drum’n Wind”. Ancient Rhythms combined with Futuristic Improvisations will transport you to Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Electronic music and beyond!

Live music and reception: 6:00-7:00pm
Films: 7:00-8:30pm
Discussion: 8:30-9:00pm

THE FILMS

Wael Shawky’s Cabaret Crusades: Horror Show File (2010), starring 200 year-old marionettes from the Italian Lupi Collection, retells the first crusades from the years 1096-1099. The film provides a precise description of the places in the Middle East and Europe that formed the backdrop for the early Crusades. Cabaret Crusades: The Path to Cairo (2012) uses hand crafted marionettes created by Shawky himself. A mythic interpretation of the second phase of religiously sanctioned military expeditions by Western Christianity toward Jerusalem and the Holy Land, the plot is based on the chronicles of the period between the First and Second Crusade (1099- 1149 AD). Concerning religion in the modern world ¬as a driving force of history, Shawky seeks to find a safe space for a dialogue about the cause and effects of religious wars and the impact that is made on European and Arab relations today. Cabaret Crusades: Horror Show File and Cabaret Crusades: The Path to Cairo has traveled internationally, both being screened at dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany.

ABOUT WAEL SHAWKY

Wael Shawky studied fine art at the University of Alexandria before receiving his M.F.A. from the University of Pennsilvania in 2000. His work has been included the dOCUMENTA(13), 50th Venice Biennial (2003) and SITE Santa Fe Biennial (2008). He has had numerous one-person exhibitions including Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut(2010), Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella, Italy (2010) and most recently at Kunst-Werke, Berlin, Germany(2012). Shawky lives and works in Alexandria, Egypt, and is the founder of MASS Alexandria, a studio program for young artists.

ABOUT HEATHER HUNT

Heather Hunt recieved a B.A. with Departmental Distinction in History and a B.A. in Medieval Studies from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She recieved a Gilman International Scholarship from the Institute of International Education in 2009. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for the 2011-2012 academic year. On her Fulbright in Egypt, Heather studied both Modern Standard and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic to further her knowledge of Arabic language, Middle Eastern culture, traditions, and religion. During the fall semester, she studied at the Arabic Language Institute at the American University in Cairo (AUC), transferring to Al-Diwan Center in Maadi for the spring semester. She currently serves the Institute of International Education as an Ambassador to both the Gilman and Fulbright programs.

ABOUT JAMAL MOHAMED AND JONATHAN JONES

Jamal Mohamed has been a featured artist in many international music and dance events. He has presented percussion workshops at venues worldwide, including Berklee College of Music; the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico City; the Tokyo School of Music in Japan; the American University in Cairo, Egypt; the Center for World Music in Bali, Indonesia; and the University of Hong Kong to name a few. He has performed with Sting, Mark O’Connor, Giovanni Hidalgo and many other well known artists. In addition, his music has been featured in the television documentaries Ramses the Great, National Geographic’s Lions of Darkness (with D’Drum), and the film biography of bluesman Robert Johnson, Can’t You Hear the Wind Howl? starring Danny Glover and Keb’ Mo’. He is currently director of the “Meadows World Music Ensemble” at Southern Methodist University.

Jonathan Jones is an alumnus of the Meadows School of the Arts where he studied clarinet with Paul Garner of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Jonathan plays principal clarinet with the Dallas Chamber Symphony and the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra. Jonathan is described in The Dallas Morning News as “a passionate and virtuosic musician responsible for all-out playing.” A frequent soloist, Jon has performed the European premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice and recitals at l’Accademia Santoro and the Matese Friend Festival in Italy. An award-winning clarinetist, Jonathan was awarded the Gold Medal by the President of Italy at the 2007 Concorso Musicale Internazionale in Castellaneta, Italy. He was also the first clarinetist in 52 years to win the Grand Prize of the Fort Collins Symphony International Artist Competition in Colorado. Jonathan currently works as a soloist, chamber musician and teacher in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

 About
The Horror Show File
The Path to Cairo

Sponsored by
Claude C. Albritton III
Trammell S. Crow

Food Sponsor:
Baboush

previous screening: Saturday, April 6 at 4:30pm