alaa minawi is a Dutch-Lebanese-Palestinian artist working between visual and performing arts. After the success of his performance That breath we held… in 2021, alaa has now returned with a new performance named 2048 - identity in dissolution.

alaa invites the audience “to a house which is not his house, on a street which is not his street”. He will host the meeting, not being there. A small, intimate audience is taken on a journey of questions that involves them, their childhood, family and identity. As such, they become not only witnesses, but also co-creators of the performance. Together with his audience, alaa discusses societal violence that results in the exclusion of certain members of society, for example by the absence of a valid identity card.

2048 is the name of the artistic research of alaa around the notion of belonging and whatever stems out from it, especially for those who are invisible, whose identities need to be hidden for different reasons. This research is manifested in the form of performative installations all under the same title; 2048, however the subtitle changes. 2048 - identity in dissolution is the fourth performative installation, that deals with the notion of visibility and invisibility. This performance started as a research from the ramifications of the inability of the Lebanese mothers to grant citizenship to their children.

2048 - identity in dissolution  had its Dutch premiere in January 2023 during De Brakke Grond's festival Beyond the Black Box. The international premiere took place on January 15, 2023 in Beirut (Lebanon). The Arabic version of the performance will be played at SPRING on the 24th of May. 

Disclaimers:

1- This performance is based on using WhatsApp. Audience members interested in the performance need to have their own WhatsApp number in their phones. A WhatsApp group will be created consisting of the audience members (10 - 12 persons). Your phone number will be part of that WhatsApp group. Some of the mediums you share in the Whatsapp group will be part of the performance. The location will be announced on the day of the performance, in the WhatsApp group.

2- This performance uses phone flashes in certain parts.

3- This performance starts outdoors.

4- This performance requires a certain literacy in using WhatsApp. it is not possible to participate without using your own WhatsApp number. Please make sure your phone is charged before the performance starts. 

Biography

alaa minawi, a Dutch-Lebanese-Palestinian artist based in Amsterdam, started his career as a light designer and scenographer. He then shifted towards making his own installations and performances. Since 2016, alaa has been exploring the possibilities of merging installation and performing arts. He tries to involve the audience in his work, not only as active participants, but rather as an integral element in the structure of the performance, for that alaa diminishes the role of the performer and highlights the presence of the spectator. Subjects like belonging, presence, absence, arab-futurism, wars, traumas, and heeling were tackled within his works. alaa has studied at the Hogeschool voor De Kunsten Utrecht. He also attained a certificate from Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts London (RADA) to train light designers. He is a lecturer at the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht, and the Sandberg Institute and the founder & Program Director of the Beirut Summer School for Theater & Performance.

https://www.alaaminawi.com/