The Other Shadow of the City an international visual art exhibition and a series of activities opening in Jerusalem on the 7th of October and runs till the 31st of October 2009.

The Other Shadow of the City draws inspiration from the city of Jerusalem and its changing urban structure. The exhibition takes the viewer to places outside the spiritual and holy Old City to urban locations that, despite their importance in shaping the contemporary urban city, have been rarely referenced or addressed in literature and art. The exhibition unravels Jerusalem as an urban structure with all its physical, social, economic and political complexity, demonstrating how urban space is divided, conquered, abandoned and occupied again.

The Other Shadow of the City features newly commissioned works by 26 international contemporary artists working in painting, sculpture, video, film, installation, text and photography.  The artists set the stage for discussion on a number of themes, such as mobility, visions of utopia/dystopia, surveillance, history and memory, gated communities & natural environments.

The exhibition is also a culmination of ArtSchool Palestine’s 08/09 residency program organized in cooperation with al Hoash Gallery where 15 artists from the UK, Germany, Denmark, France, Morocco, Algeria and Jordan were invited to pursue new projects or research in locations throughout Palestine. For The Other Shadow of the City nine artists were invited, these are: Anna Boggon, Michael Baers, Sarah Beddington, Zoulikha Bouabdellah, Maj Hasager, Samah Hijawi, Bouchra Khalili and Oraib Toukan.

In addition, the exhibition provided an opportunity for Arab and Palestinian artists, who don’t have access to the city of Jerusalem, to respond to their desires and dreams – testifying that ideas about cities are not only formed at a conscious level, but are also the product of unconscious desires. The city as a space becomes both the material and lived space as well as a site of fantasy and imagination.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of events, including artists’ talks, screenings and workshops.