AbstractsSociology

Australian artists of Arabic origin : identity and hope

by Jamal Joumaa




Institution: University of Western Sydney
Department:
Degree: Doctor of Creative Arts
Year: 0
Keywords: art, Arab; Arab Australian artists; artists; multiculturalism; Australia
Record ID: 1044699
Full text PDF: http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/41020


Abstract

Despite the migration of some artists of Arabic origin to Australia since 1947, experimental Australian artists of Arabic origin only began to gain attention for their work from 1975 onwards. The works of those artists who have a migrant background, distinguished, on one hand, by the continuous link between themselves and their cultural heritage and the political and human conditions of their homelands, and on the other hand, being inspired by the social, cultural and political issues of Australian life, which reflect the type and nature of relationships between the artists and their host society. It is important to note the commonalities in efforts of artists to realize their arts with individual imprints, in an attempt to create an aesthetic contribution that confirms their own particularity. In their cultural trends, originating from the values and concerns of their social existence; exploring new artistic values and symbols, and working through different artistic trends and techniques, in ways that reflect their visions about art as a duty, and represent a cultural, aesthetic and moral responsibility, toward the societies of their homelands and their adopted country. At present, this art activity is recognized as having made a vital contribution to Australian cultural life, incorporating serious artistic and cultural concerns, represented by a group of exhibitions. Thus, this study is in the frame of these cultural and artistic efforts, dating to the beginning of this activity in Australia, studying the educational, political, social conditions, which help in the development of this art. It focuses on exposing the artistic elements and their aesthetic and cultural values, the symbols and their relegations, which appear in the works of the participant artists in the frame of the study. Doctor of Creative Arts (D.C.A.)