Walid al Wawi will discuss “Qala 0.8900”, his new exhibition at The Lab. As a co-founder of Samt, he will also be talking about this virtual platform for research and exhibition, artists’ right to free expression in politically/culturally censored regions, and Samt’s Urban Mission to activate socially remote and hidden communities through the conversion of informal shops, private houses, etc. into spaces for art, conversation, and research, existing within and through the occupied space rather than affecting or overpowering its original identity.

This talk is part of the first phase of our 2019 program At The Lab, bringing together artists and cultural practitioners exploring sound, listening and sonic practices in relation to forms of collective agency, alternative socialities and the emergence of milieus.

Walid Al Wawi
Born 1988, Walid Al Wawi is a Jordanian Palestinian-native, concerned with the hybridisation of the modern Middle Eastern identity and the implication of the geo-political claustrophobia upon cultural naturalisation.

He is the founder of SAMT, an online exhibition space and mentorship program for artists from the Middle East. The previous iteration of SAMT was hosted by the Tate Modern as part of their Tate Exchange program.