Exhibition enables photographers to reach out to wider audience

AMMAN – For Jordanian photographer Alaaeddin Jaber, the opportunity to have his photos displayed at a regional exhibition is a promising start in the world of professional photography.

Jaber is one of two Jordanian photographers whose work was selected to be featured at a regional exhibition on humans’ changing relationship with nature, according to the Goethe Institut.

“The idea of the project is really good because our work has been promoted not only in Jordan but also in many Arab countries,” he told The Jordan Times at the opening of the exhibition last week.

The exhibition, held at Darat Al Funun under the title “Next To Here”, features work by photographers who took part in local workshops conducted by the Goethe Institut in every Arab country in the Middle East and North Africa.

A total of 18 photographers are taking part in the exhibition, according to the German cultural institute.

The exhibition, which continues through November 30, includes works by photographers from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates, according to Darat Al Funun.

“These photographic works explore pictorial landscapes of cities and nature, and paint portraits of human beings. They all share a common feature, which is the interest in the nature and realism of the world around us and its inhabitants,” the gallery said.

The exhibition is being held in several cities around the Arab world throughout 2014.

“This exhibition is a good chance for Jordanians to have their work promoted. Photographers from all over the region can see each other’s work,” said Linda Khoury, the founder of Darat Al Tasweer.

The workshop in Jordan was conducted in cooperation with Darat Al Tasweer.

Goethe Institut Director Christiane Krämer-Hus-Hus said the regional project was proposed by the Goethe Institut in Cairo.

The exhibition gives the audience an idea of what stage the Arab world is going through at the moment, she told The Jordan Times.

Jaber said he wanted to shed light on the scarcity of water in Jordan and show the country’s dams.

“I chose this subject because it is an important issue that we need to pay more attention to,” he noted.

His colleague, Hussam Manasrah, said he decided to document the life of a Palestinian family who lives near the Jordan River.

“They moved from Palestine in 1948 and still live near the Jordan River. I provided details about their suffering during their trip from Palestine to Jordan and how the Kingdom received them,” he added.

The Goethe Institut workshop in Jordan, which was conducted by a German who works in documentary photography, addressed the theme “On the Banks of the Jordan River”.