GROUP EXHIBITION

After the Mediterranean is an exhibition curated by curator, writer and art researcher Oriol Fontdevila, which brings together seven artists whose works address the social and ecological challenges affecting the region: Laia Estruch, Erola Arcalís, Omar Mismar, Abi Shehu, Adjoa Armah, Sara Ouhaddou and artist collective Huniti Goldox, with Areej Huniti and Eliza Goldox.

The exhibition thus brings together a group of artists, many of whom originate from, work within or in relation to territories bordering the Mediterranean. This includes among others Spanish, Albanian, French Moroccan and Lebanese artists. They present existing and new works, the latter created through a residency program taking place in Menorca over the winter often in collaboration with local makers such as ceramicists and weavers. A public program runs alongside the exhibition, engaging learning institutions, local organisations and communities, as well as the general public.

After the Mediterranean conjures a diverse series of futures to address ideas around the human and ecological crises that currently impact the region. The exhibition questions, on the one hand, the idea of the Mediterranean as it has been–and continues to be–articulated: as a gentle, sunny sea, as an idyllic region with an equally tranquil way of life, as a place where cultures could coexist, trade and move around in harmony–in line with the tradition of critical thinking relying upon the work of historian Fernand Braudel.

‘Through their practice, the artists in the exhibition confront this legacy with the problems that have arisen from the current climate emergency, from post-colonialism and the Arab Spring, from successive migrations and the policies that prevent free movement across this sea’, Oriol Fontdevila has commented.

At the same time, ‘After the Mediterranean’ introduces new thoughts and stories that testify to the human capacity to tackle the region’s challenges.