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[[Image:Abed Abdi.jpg|right|200px]]
{{copy edit|date=January 2011}}
'''Abed Abdi''' ({{lang-ar|عبد عابدي}}, born February 1942, [[Haifa]], [[Mandate Palestine]]) is an [[Arab Israeli|Arab]] [[Israelis|Israeli]] painter, graphic designer, sculpturer and lecturer of the arts.
[[File:Abed Abdi.jpg|right|200px]]
'''Abed Abdi''' ({{lang-ar|عبد عابدي}}, born February 1942, [[Haifa]], [[Mandate Palestine]]) is an [[Arab Israeli|Arab]] [[Israelis|Israeli]] painter, graphic designer, sculptor, master blacksmith and lecturer of the arts.


Abdi worked as a [[blacksmith]] and illustrated [[Arabic language|Arabic]] publications that appeared in Israel. After studying in Dresden, Abdi became the first Palestinian to build monumental art on native soil. His allegorical monuments in Galilee, honoring human fortitude and resistance, include a narrative mural depicting Elijah¡s defiance and survival and a [[bronze]] monument dedicated to six Palestinians who were shot on [[Land Day]].
==Early life and academic studies==


Abdi Held his first exhibition in [[Tel-Aviv]] in 1962. He then pursued academic studies at the Fine Arts Academy in [[Dresden]] (Germany). His professors were L.Grundig, G. Bondzin and G. Kettner. His [[masterwork]] at the Academy received the 2nd prize, which allowed Abdi to spend another year at the Academy and specialize in [[mural]]s and [[environmental sculpture]].
Abed Abdi was born into a long standing Haifa family, his mother's uncle, Abed el Rahman el Haj, was [[Haifa|mayor of the city of Haifa]] in the years 1920–1927. In April 1948, Abed Abdi, his mother Khaiyrieh, his brother Deeb and sisters Lutfiye, Suad and Zahra were uprooted from their home, while his father remained in Haifa. From Haifa the mother and her children traveled to [[Acre]] from where, two weeks later, they sailed on a decrepit boat to [[Lebanon]]. In Lebanon they were first housed in the transit camp in [[Beirut]] port, and later moved to the [[Mieh Mieh]] [[refugee camp]] near [[Sidon]], from where they continued to [[Damascus]]. After three years of wandering between [[Palestinian refugee camps]], the mother and her children were allowed back into [[Israel]] as part of the [[Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law|family reunification program]]. His eldest sister Lutfiye still (2011) resides in the [[Yarmouk]] refugee camp in Damascus, Syria.<ref>Tal Ben Zvi, ''The Trailblazer:Abed Abdi Biographical Milestones'', in:''Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity'', published in 2010, at p. 222.</ref>


In 1972 he returned to Haifa, and worked as graphic designer for a number of Arabic language publications, taught arts and designed murals. The city of Haifa awarded Abdi the "Herman Struck Best Artist of the Year" Prize in 1973. That year, he also obtained the Young Artist's award at the [[Berlin International Youth Festival]]. The city of Haifa awarded him the "Best Artist of the Year Hermann Struck" award for the second time in 1999.
During his high school days he learned painting and sculpting at the workshops of Israeli art teachers Yaskil Avraham, Meirowitch Zvi, and sculptor Kafri Mordecai. Later he joined the Communist Youth Alliance in Haifa, where he was first exposed to [[Social Realism]] and Israeli artists who adopted this style and who, at the time, were close to the Israeli socialist-communist Left. In 1962 Abdi was accepted for membership in the Haifa branch of the Israeli Association of Painters and Sculptors, becoming its first Arab member, and held his first exhibition in [[Tel Aviv]].<ref>Tal Ben Zvi, ''The Trailblazer: Abed Abdi Biographical Milestones'', in:''Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity'', published in 2010, at p. 222.</ref>


Abed Abdi has erected a number of memorial monuments and murals: in 1976 -- a sculpture to commemorate Land Day; in 1984 -- the memorial to commemorate 75 years for the existence of the Galilean municipality of Shefa Amr. In addition, he has painted a number of murals in Haifa, Jaffa and Nazareth.
He then pursued academic studies at the [[Dresden Academy of Fine Arts|Fine Arts Academy]] in [[Dresden]] (Germany). His professors were Lea Grundig,<ref>see [[:de:Lea Grundig|Lea Grunding]] on Wikipedia in German. See also a portrait of the student Abed Abdi, made by his professor Lea Grundig (1967) at: [http://www.deutschefotothek.de/obj30128173.html#|home Deutsche Fotothek] {{dead link|date=January 2011}}</ref> G. Bondzin and G. Kettner. His [[masterwork]] at the Academy received the 2nd prize,<ref>[http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=43%3Asolidarity-monument&Itemid=47&lang=en see images of the work at the official site of Abed Abdi]</ref> which allowed Abdi to spend another year at the Academy and specialize in [[mural]]s and [[environmental sculpture]].<ref name="autogenerated194">Amir Abdi,''The Wondering Museum in the Works of Abed Abdi'', in: ''Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity'', published in 2010, at p. 194</ref>


Abed Abdi has exhibited in Qatar, Israel, Belgium and Bulgaria. He has participated in over 45 group exhibitions, among them the joint Palestinian-Israeli exhibition "It's possible" which toured the US and Germany between 1988 and 1990. In 1995 he participated in the second exhibition for Palestinians and Israelis in Germany. His work appeared in the "Solidarity with the Palestinian People" exhibit in Tokyo, Berlin, Brussels, Belgrade and Athens. He also organized and participated in exhibitions with Israeli and Palestinian artists in Tel-Aviv, Haifa and West Jerusalem in the period between 1980 and 1987 defending the freedom of expression and creativity.
In 1970 he received his M.A diploma, and was then selected by his academic supervisor Prof. Gerhard Bondzin, along with a group of other graduating students at the Academy, to participate in the erection of a huge mural at the Cultural Palace<ref>[http://www.nmz.de/files/images/fotos/kulturpalast%20Dresden_0.jpg see image of the mural]</ref> (Kulturpalast), built in 1968 in the center of Dresden, a mural which still remains<ref>[[commons:File:Kulturpalast Dresden 2.jpg|see image of the Cultural Palace today]]</ref> a cultural landmark of this part of unified Germany.<ref name="autogenerated194"/>


Abdi is an active member of the Haifa branch of the [[Israeli Association of Painters and Sculpturers]], as well as the Jewish-Arab Center of Beit Hagefen. This has enabled him to unite Palestinian and Israeli artists, and organize joint exhibitions, bringing the prospects of peace closer. Abdi founded the Ibda' society for the promotion of visual arts in the Arab Israeli sector and Arabelle - Visual Arts Workshop in Haifa, for the promotion of the visual arts and intercultural dialogue through the arts. Abdi is president of Al Midan Theater in Hafia. He has been teaching fine arts in the Arab Pedagogical College in Haifa since 1985.
==Abed Abdi's Art==
===Illustrations===


<gallery>
In the years Abdi spent in [[Germany]] (1964–1971) he created a corpus of [[illustrations]], [[lithographs]] and [[etchings]] mainly dedicated to either the [[Nakba]] or the [[Palestinian refugees]]. A group of the refugee works which Abdi created in Germany between 1968 and 1971, and which were published in 1973 as a set of twelve black and white prints entitled ''Abed Abdi – Paintings'', offer a glimpse of central motifs that would later recur in many of his works. Curator Tal Ben Zvi commented that "in these and other works, clearly evident is the mark left by his childhood experiences when he moved between refugee camps, and from the period following his family’s reunification in Haifa. To depict the refugees, Abdi adopted a Social Realism approach of the kind to which he was exposed prior to his departure for Germany, and which he refined while he was there".<ref>Tal Ben Zvi, ''Abed Abdi: Wa Ma Nasina'' (We Have Not Forgotten) in: ''Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity'', published in 2010, at p. 216.([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=22%3Arefugees&Itemid=46&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref>

In 1972 Abed Abdi returned to Haifa, and worked as graphic designer for a number [[Arabic language|Arabic]] publications that appeared in Israel, like [[Al-Ittihad (Israeli newspaper)|Al Ittihad]] and Al Jadid. He has created illustrations and applied graphic art,<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=35%3Aapllied-graphic-art&Itemid=46&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site ])</ref>.

A recent exhibition, titled ''Wa Ma Nasina'' (We Have Not Forgotten) contains a selection from his illustrations. Curator Tal Ben Zvi wrote that "This exhibition is a personal journey in time, memory and history of Palestinians, which constitutes an integral part of the life of artist Abed Abdi, who was born in Haifa."<ref>[ exhibition site http://www.wa-ma-nasina.com/ Tal Ben Zvi,''Wa Ma Nasina'' ]</ref>

The exhibition contains paintings and [[lithographies]], created starting at the end of the 1960s, and published in Al Ittihad newspaper,<ref>([http://www.wa-ma-nasina.com/twenty.html see images])</ref> [and in Al Jadid literary magazine.<ref>([http://www.wa-ma-nasina.com/wamanasina.html see images on exhibition's site])</ref>

Additionally, some of the illustrations in the exhibition have served as covers of books, and as illustrations inside books. Among the books in which these illustrations were published are:
* [[Emile Habibi]]'s two books, ''Sextet of Six Days''] (1968)<ref>[see exhibit on exhibitions site http://www.wa-ma-nasina.com/sixdays.html</ref> and
* ''The Pessoptimist: The Secret Life of Saeed Abo el-Nahs al-Motashel''] (1977)<ref>[see exhibit on exhibitions site http://www.wa-ma-nasina.com/pessoptimist.html</ref>
* Salman Natour's ''Wa ma nasina'' (We Have not Forgotten) (1982)
* [[Felicia Langer]]'s ''With My Own Eyes'' (1974)
* Joseph Algazi's (Galili) ''Father, What Did You Do When They Demolished Nader's House?'' (1974)<ref>[http://www.wa-ma-nasina.com/father.html see images on exhibitions site]</ref>
* Moshe Barzilai's anthologies of poems<ref>[see images on exhibitions site http://www.wa-ma-nasina.com/barzilay.html see images ] {{dead link|date=January 2011}}</ref>

Among his illustrations one may find illustrations made by him for Arab theaters in Israel.<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=31%3Aillustrations-for-theatre-&Itemid=46&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site]).</ref>

His friend and colleague, Palestinian poet [[Samih al-Qasim|Samih Al Qasim]] stated that "Since he started out, Abdi’s brush has attracted my attention. He offered a unique approach. When I asked him for a print for the cover of my second collection of poems, Poems of the Roads, in 1964, he assented with loving enthusiasm. He recognized the harmony in our work: an array that is immersed in the national and human pain of the Palestinian people, and a poem inundated with that pain. His illustration constituted a sharp, deep and beautiful expression of the burning lyrical character of the poems of the time."<ref>Samih Al Qasem, ''Abed Abdi - An Artist - Phenomenon'' in: ''Abed Abdi, 50 Years of Creativity'', 2010, at p.</ref>

===Abed Abdi's Art: Caricatures===

Abdi created many [[caricatures]], that were published mainly in the [[Al-Ittihad (Israeli newspaper)|Al-Ittihad]] newspaper in Haifa between the years 1972 to 1981.<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=24%3Acaricatures&Itemid=46&lang=en%20 View images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref>

===Abed Abdi's Art: Paintings===
Abdi painted a number of color paintings during his studies in Germany, and has continued to do so, especially from the late seventies. In the paintings from the late 1990s, Abdi starts mixing color with other materials, such as glass, wood, metals, etc.<ref>[http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=9%3Ametals&Itemid=45&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site]</ref>

His paintings include [[portraits]],<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=4%3Aportraits&Itemid=45&lang=en%20 see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref> [[figures]]<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=13%3Afigures&Itemid=45&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref> and compositions.<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=12%3Acomposition&Itemid=45&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref>

However, his main themes center around his childhood refugee experience,<ref>(see images on Abed Abdi's official site [http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=7%3Arefugees&Itemid=45&lang=en%20 here] and [http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=20%3Aqpalestiniantentq-series&Itemid=45&lang=en here]</ref> Haifa,<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=10%3Ahaifa-my-city&Itemid=45&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref> the [[Galilea|Gallile]]<ref>[http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=14%3Agalileia-al-jaleel&Itemid=45&lang=en (see images on Abed Abdi's official site)]</ref> and other places,<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=8%3Amemory-of-a-place&Itemid=45&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref> the [[Intifada]],<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=5%3Aintifada&Itemid=45&lang=en (see images on Abed Abdi's official site here)] and ([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=11%3Adialogue-with-david-roberts&Itemid=45&lang=en here])</ref> and the windows and doors series,<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=19%3Aqwindows-and-doorsq-seriesr&Itemid=45&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref> those in the tiny alleys of the Arab neighborhood of ''Wadi Nisnas'' in Haifa, where the artists resides.
Commenting on this later focus of his art, Samia A. Halaby wrote that “During his mature years, Abdi’s work evolved to greater abstraction. Political comments are no longer explicit. At the Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramllah in 1997, Abdi exhibited a series of constructions utilizing windows to express a host of themes related to Palestine and the greater Arab world. That which inside, hidden, forbidden, and maybe imprisoned confronts the freedom of those outside curiously trying to look in."<ref>Samia A. Halaby, ''Liberation art of Palestine: Palestinian Painting and sculpture in the Second Half of the 20th Century'', at p.38</ref>

Of special interest is his [[Ecce Homo]] series,<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=6%3Aecce-homo&Itemid=45&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref> and his series ''Dialogue with [[David Roberts (painter)|David Roberts]]'', in which he contrasts the romantic 18th century works of the Scottish Roberts with the realities of the holy land as seen today.<ref>[http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=11%3Adialogue-with-david-roberts&Itemid=45&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site]</ref>

===Abed Abd's Art: Monuments===

After studying in Dresden, Abdi became the first Palestinian to build monumental art on native soil. His allegorical monuments in Galilee, honoring human fortitude and resistance, include a narrative mural depicting Elijah¡s defiance and survival and a [[bronze]] monument dedicated to six Palestinians who were shot on [[Land Day]].<ref>Kamal Boullata, Encyclopedia of the Palestinians (ed. Philip Mattar) published 2000 and 2005 by Facts On File, at p.88</ref>

====Land Day Monument====

In the course of the years following the [[Land Day]] events, Abed Abdi and Israeli artist<ref>[Gershon Knispel's site http://www.homembala.com.br/gershon</ref> Gershon Knispel] were commissioned to build a monument commemorating the [[Sakhneen]] Land Day, with support from the Sakhneen mayor at the time, Jamal Tarabeih. On the 30th of March 1977, exactly one year after the demonstrations, the artists presented a model of the monument to the Arab Municipalities Committee and to the wide public. The monument was constructed at the end of March 1978, and the construction itself took several hours with the joint effort of a large number of construction workers from Sakhneen. Tamir Shorek,<ref>see Shorek Tamir, 2002</ref> notes that Jamal Tarabeih, mayor of Sakhneen at the time, was arrested by the police in the course of the construction and accused of granting an illegal construction permit, but he was released within several hours.<ref>[http://www.hagar-gallery.com/landay/home.html Tal Ben Zvi, The Story of a Monument: Land Day Sakhneen 1976-2006 Abed Abdi and Gershon Knispel]</ref>

The monument was built in the shape of a [[sarcophagus]], a rectangular [[marble]] [[sepulcher]], on which motifs of faces and ornaments were inscribed and which characterize [[classical Greek]] and [[Roman art|Roman funerary art]].<ref>Amir Abdi,The Wondering Museum in the Works of Abed Abdi, in: "Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity", published in 2010, at p. 191. ([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=40:land-day-monument&Itemid=47&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref>

A recent exhibition]<ref>[http://www.hagar-gallery.com/landay/home.html exhibition site]</ref> commemorates the erection of that monument, curated by Tal Ben Zvi, who wrote that "this monument, which is identified as one of the turning points in the Palestinian presence in the public arena inside Israel, became a particularly significant and influential factor in everything pertaining to the formation of the national collective memory in general, and the visual memory in particular, of the Palestinian minority in Israel."<ref>Tal Ben Zvi, ''Abed Abdi: Wa Ma Nasina'' (We Have Not Forgotten) in: ''Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity'', published in 2010, at p. 199.
* The Sakhnin monument stood at the center of the exhibition named ''The Story of a Monument: Land Day in Sakhnin'' (curator, Tal Ben-Zvi).

* For further reading on the exhibition see, Gish, Amit, “You Will Build and We Shall Destroy: Art as a Rescue Excavation”, Sedek 2, 2008, pp.117-119.

* The exhibition's website can be found at: www.hagar-gallery.com

* the exhibition catalogue: Tal Ben-Zvi, Shadi Halilieh, Jafar Farah (eds.), 2008, Land Day: The History, Struggle and Monument, Mossawa Center, Haifa [Arabic].
</ref>

====Abed Abdi's Art: Other Monuments====

Abed Abdi has erected a number of other memorial monuments and murals: In 1984—the memorial to commemorate 75 years for the existence of the Galilean municipality of [[Shefa Amr]],<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=42%3Amonuent-shafaamr&Itemid=47&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site)]</ref> in 1999 the memorial monument in [[Kafr Kanna]]<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=39%3Amonument-kufor-kanna&Itemid=47&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref> and in 2001 the memorial monument in [[Kafr Manda]].<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=38%3Amonument-kufor-manda&Itemid=47&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref>

===Abed Abdi's Art: Murals and Environmental Sculptures===
Abed Abdi he has painted a number of murals and erected a number of environmental sculptures in various locations: In Haifa,<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=45%3Aenvironmental-sculptures&Itemid=47&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref> Jaffa, in three schools at Ibellin,<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=47%3Aenvironmental-sculptures-in-ibellin&Itemid=47&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref> at a school in Zarazir village,<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=48%3Aenvironmental-sculpture-in-zarazir-&Itemid=47&lang=en see images on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref> and in Nazareth.

In 1984, Abdi created the [[mozaic]] at the House of Grace<ref>[http://www.house-grace.org/ see]</ref>- An Orthodox church in Haifa],<ref>(see images on Abed Abdi's official site)</ref> and in 1995 advised in the reconstruction of Al Jazzar mosque in Acre.

In 1998 Abdi erected an environmental sculpture ''Homage to Amman'' at the piazza of the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Art<ref>[http://www.nationalgallery.org/ Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts > Home]</ref> in the city of [[Amman]].<ref>([http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=36%3Amonument-in-amman-jordan&Itemid=47&lang=en see images of the monument on Abed Abdi's official site])</ref>

In 2007, Abdi participated in the erection of the ''Pillar for Friendship and Peace'',<ref>(see images on Abed Abdi's official site [http://abedabdi.com/index.php?option=com_phocagallery&view=category&id=44%3Apillar-for-friendship-and-peace-uk&Itemid=47&lang=en here]</ref> created at the historical city of [[Ironbridge]] in the [[UK]] in 2007 on the initiative of BABA - the British Artist Blacksmiths Association].<ref>[http://www.baba.org.uk/ BABA - British Artist Blacksmiths Association]</ref> The pillar includes works by a number of master blacksmiths from around the world. On the occasion of this Abdi stated that “The iron reflects the relations between individuals and societies. I used rounded pieces of glass as a special element.The iron reflects,through the glass,the relations between individuals and societies; harmony and waves,meeting and continuity.”<ref>[http://www.blacksmithscompany.org.uk/Pages/2Livery/Newsletters/Blacksmiths-35.pdf Abed Abdi in: The Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths, Newsletter 35th Issue December 2009 at p.10.]</ref>

==Abed Abdi: Exhibitions==

Abed Abdi has exhibited in Qatar, Jordan, Germany, France, Hungary, Israel, Belgium and Bulgaria. He has participated in over 50 group exhibitions, among them the joint Palestinian-Israeli exhibition ''It's possible'' which toured the [[USA]] and Germany between 1988 and 1990. In 1995 he participated in the second exhibition for Palestinians and Israelis in Germany. His work appeared in the ''Solidarity with the Palestinian People exhibit'' in [[Tokyo]], [[Havanah]], [[Berlin]], [[Moscow]], [[Brussels]], [[Belgrade]] and [[Athens]]. He also organized and participated in exhibitions with Israeli and Palestinian artists in Tel-Aviv, Haifa and West [[Jerusalem]] in the period between 1980 and 1987 defending the [[Freedom of expression|freedom of expression and creativity]].

Speaking about his art and the 1973 War, Abdi said: "Out of my worldview and my loathing of war, and also out of my profound concern for the future of relations between the two peoples, Arab and Jewish, I have shown my two works here in the exhibition entitled ''Echoes of the Times''... When the [[cannons]] thundered on the Golan Heights and the banks of the Suez, and when the future of the region was at risk, I recalled the words of [[Pablo Picasso]], and in my work I said “no to war” in accordance with my artistic beliefs; art must be committed and play a role.... In the same way that an artist lives the events of the past, present and future, he also lives the conflict between Man and the forces of evil and destruction. And when society and [[humankind]] are in crisis, the artist is required to express himself harmoniously by means of the artistic vehicle at his disposal […] and so […] the role of the artist in his work, thoughts and [[worldview]] is to reinforce the perpetual connection between himself and the society in which he lives. I was brought up according to this approach and thus I understand the connection between my artistic work and the role defined by [[Kokoschka]], who sought to remove the mask for all those who want to see reality as it is. The role of fine art is to show them the truth".<ref>A. Niv, Zu Haderekh, 13.2.1974 cited in Tal Ben Zvi, ''Abed Abdi: Wa Ma Nasina'' (We Have Not Forgotten) in: ''Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity'', published in 2010, at p. 216.</ref>

His most recent exhibition was held in 2010 at Um el Fahem Gallery in Israel, and was titled ''Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity''.<ref>[http://www.artisrael.org/event/2010-09/discussion-on-abed-abdi-fifty-years-of-creativity-at-umm-el-fahem-art-gallery-umm-el-f Discussion on ''Abed Abdi: Fifty Years of Creativity'' at Umm el-Fahem Art Gallery]</ref> The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive catalog (in Hebrew, Arabic and English) that summarizes Abdi’s work.<ref>[http://www.umelfahemgallery.org/galleryen/default.asp?CatID=74&ID=77 ''Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity'' A retrospective of the works of Abed Abdi spanning the last 50 years. Curator: Tal Ben Zvi] {{dead link|date=January 2011}}</ref>

==Abed Abdi's Other Activities==

Abdi is a member of the Haifa branch of the Israeli Association of Painters and Sculptors, and he has also been active in the Jewish-Arab Center of Beit Hagefen.<ref>[http://www.beit-hagefen.com/En_Web/En_%20Home_Index.htm site of the Center]</ref> This has enabled him to bring together Palestinian and Israeli artists, and organize joint exhibitions, bringing the prospects of peace closer.

From 2004 to 2009 Abdi Served as President of the ''Al Midan'' Theater in Haifa, and from 1996 to 2000 was a member in the Committee for Arts and Culture in Israel.

Abdi is the Founder of ''Ibdaa Association''(1994)<ref>[http://www.ibdaa-art.com/index.asp site of Association]</ref> for the Advancement of Visual Arts among Israeli Arabs, and founder of ''Arabelle'' (2006), an association for deepening the dialogue between Arabs and Jews through Arts, and was one of the Founding Members of the [[Khalil al-Sakakini|''Khalil el Sakakini Cultural Center'']] in [[Ramallah|Ramalla]] (1998).<ref>([http://www.sakakini.org/ Khalil Sakakini site])</ref>

Since 2008, Abdi is the co-curator of the open air art exhibition bringing together Israeli, Palestinian and foreign artists, attached to the “Holiday of Holidays” multicultural event, taking place in Haifa each year through the whole month of December, celebrating the Christian, the Muslim and the Jewish holidays.

==Teaching arts==
Abed Abdi began teaching art ever since he came back from his studies in Germany. He taught arts in various [[Palestinian]] community centers and schools in the [[Galilee]] (eg. in Haifa, [[Nazareth]], Kafr Yaseef, [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], [[Jaffa]] and [[Shafa Amr]]). In addition, he has been teaching fine arts and the history of arts in the Arab Pedagogical College in Haifa since 1985, until his retirement in 2007.

He has been teaching art and ceramics in the workshop attached to his studio in Haifa since 2006, offering special courses for young children.

Veronica Sartore from the [[Oasis of Peace]] wrote that Abed Abdi often meets students all around the country, always bringing a series of his works with him and creating this way a ’traveling gallery’: “My purpose is to transform the classrooms into galleries, and to introduce the children into the world of art. It should be noted that generally most of the students have never met an artist; Arab children in particular have very few opportunities to come into contact with art, so the idea is that the galleries should come to the schools!”.<ref>[http://nswas.org/spip.php?article961 Veronica Sartore, Meeting with Abed Abdi, Oasis of Peace site]</ref>

Gannit Ankori, discussing his contribution to Palestinian art, stated that "Abdi's texts offer invaluable documentation about the Palestinian artists, his activities as a teacher and curator in Haifa, and his conscientious documentation of this information, make him an important source for the study of Palestinian art".<ref>[http://books.google.hu/books?id=X_Q6FX0YFVwC&pg=PA223&lpg=PA223&dq=%22abed+abdi%22&source=bl&ots=2UNI1ZtaBE&sig=-TshZuH54mzokS70rxXkZa04rho&hl=en&ei=95oxTYmQKsKCOvGqxbUC&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBTg8#v=onepage&q=%22abed%20abdi%22&f=false Gannit Ankorti, Palestinian Art, 2006 at p.19]</ref>

Art critic Said Abu Shakra wrote that "There can be no doubt that Abed Abdi’s importance is in his being the first to cross the sea to study in the certain knowledge that the city of his birth needed him to return to act and lead in an unfamiliar sphere of endeavor, and in fact to create something [[ex nihilo]] in the complex reality... His importance is in the fact that he acknowledges and is conscious of this reality, and came back to it out of a sense of responsibility, mission and commitment....He is an artist whose name is etched on the Palestinian collective memory and the nascent [[Palestinian culture]] both in Israel and beyond."<ref>Said Abu Shakra, ''Preface'', in: ''Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity'', published 2010, at p. 225.</ref>

==Awards and honors==

* 1972: The ''Young Artist's award'' at the [[Berlin International Youth Festival]].

* 1973: The city of Haifa awarded Abdi the ''Hermann Struck Best Artist of the Year Prize'' in 1973.

* 1999: ''Hermann Struck Best Artist of the Year Prize'', municipality of the city of Haifa (for a second time).

* 1999, 2001, 2002: A number of awards from local [[Rotary Club|Rotary clubs]] in Haifa, Nazareth.

* 2008: Abed Abdi became the first Arab artist living in Israel to win the Israeli Minister of Science, Culture and Sport Award for art and graphic art.<ref>[http://www.museumeinharod.org.il/hebrew/exhibitions/2009/winners_2008/winners_2008_catalogue.pdf see the official catalog of the winners, Ein Harod Museum of Art, at p.22-23]</ref> The Jury stated in their decision that "Abed Abdi's Contribution in the making of collective visual culture among the Arab Israeli minority is unprecedented, and could be described as equivalent to [[Nahum Gutman]]'s extent works."<ref>http://www.ynet.co.il/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3636366,00.html</ref> Replying to a question from an interviewer regarding the excitement generated by the event in the Israeli media, Abdi said, “If I really am the first Arab artist, it is neither a compliment to me nor to 60 years of the State of Israel”.<ref>Anat Zohar, “It Doesn’t Compliment Me or the State”, at http://bidur.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=600807</ref> Israeli curator Tal Ben Zvi commented that "Indeed, it seems that thus Abdi faithfully summed up the attitude of both the state and the Israeli art establishment towards Palestinian art inside the Green Line. Abdi, the prolific and groundbreaking artist in so many respects in the sphere of Palestinian art, was forced to wait until he was sixty-six to gain this recognition."<ref>Tal Ben Zvi, ''Abed Abdi: Wa Ma Nasina'' (We Have Not Forgotten) in: ''Abed Abdi: 50 Years of Creativity'', published in 2010, at p. 199.</ref>

* 2008: Abdi received a honorary mention from the [[Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures]] for for his activities in fostering Euro Mediterranean dialogue through the arts, having been selected as one of the 5 finalists<ref> http://www.euromedalex.org/euromed-award/previous-editions</ref>in the Euro-Med Award for the Dialogue between Cultures for 2008.

* In 2010, the [[mayor]] of the city of Haifa awarded him the title of ''notable citizen of Haifa'' .<ref>[http://www1.haifa.muni.il/news/20100714/newsletter.html#art3 link to Haifa municipality's announcement] {{dead link|date=January 2011}}</ref>

Abdi is married to a [[Hungarian]] wife, and is father to three sons.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Portrait_of_Abed_Abdi1.jpg|
Image:Portrait_of_Abed_Abdi1.jpg|
Image:MT_C_00025_04.JPG|
Image:MT_C_00025_04.JPG|
<!-- Missing image removed: Image:IL_B_00073_76.Jpg| -->
Image:Abed_Abdi_thumb_Monument_Kafr_Manda.jpg|
Image:Abed_Abdi_Haifa_April_1948.jpg|
Image:Abed_Abdi_Gershon_Knispel_Land_Day_Monument1.jpg|
Image:Abed Abdi Land Day poster 1980.jpg|
Image:Abed Abdi Men in the sun.jpg|
Image:Abed_Abdi_refugees.jpg|
Image:Abed Abdi Dialogue David Roberts.jpg|
</gallery>
</gallery>

==Notes==

{{Reflist}}


==References==
==References==


*Kamal Boullata / The Encyclopedia of the Palestinians/ [[Philip Mattar]], ed. The Encyclopedia of the Palestinians. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2000.''
{{Ibid|date=January 2011}}
* [[Kamal Boullata]] / The Encyclopedia of the Palestinians/ [[Philip Mattar]], ed. The Encyclopedia of the Palestinians. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2000.''


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.abedabdi.com Abed Abdi's official website]
* [http://www.abedabdi.com www.abedabdi.com]


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
|NAME = Abdi, Abed
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES = artist
|SHORT DESCRIPTION =
|DATE OF BIRTH = February 1942
|PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Haifa]], [[Mandate Palestine]]
|DATE OF DEATH =
|PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdi, Abed}}
[[Category:Arab citizens of Israel]]
[[Category:Arab citizens of Israel]]
[[Category:Israeli artists]]
[[Category:Israeli artists]]
[[Category:Palestinian painters]]
[[Category:Palestinian arts]]
[[Category:Palestinian arts]]
[[Category:People from Haifa]]
[[Category:People from Haifa]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]


[[ar:عبد عابدي]]
[[de:Abed Abdi]]
[[he:עבד עאבדי]]
[[he:עבד עאבדי]]

Revision as of 09:06, 31 January 2011

Abed Abdi (Arabic: عبد عابدي, born February 1942, Haifa, Mandate Palestine) is an Arab Israeli painter, graphic designer, sculpturer and lecturer of the arts.

Abdi worked as a blacksmith and illustrated Arabic publications that appeared in Israel. After studying in Dresden, Abdi became the first Palestinian to build monumental art on native soil. His allegorical monuments in Galilee, honoring human fortitude and resistance, include a narrative mural depicting Elijah¡s defiance and survival and a bronze monument dedicated to six Palestinians who were shot on Land Day.

Abdi Held his first exhibition in Tel-Aviv in 1962. He then pursued academic studies at the Fine Arts Academy in Dresden (Germany). His professors were L.Grundig, G. Bondzin and G. Kettner. His masterwork at the Academy received the 2nd prize, which allowed Abdi to spend another year at the Academy and specialize in murals and environmental sculpture.

In 1972 he returned to Haifa, and worked as graphic designer for a number of Arabic language publications, taught arts and designed murals. The city of Haifa awarded Abdi the "Herman Struck Best Artist of the Year" Prize in 1973. That year, he also obtained the Young Artist's award at the Berlin International Youth Festival. The city of Haifa awarded him the "Best Artist of the Year Hermann Struck" award for the second time in 1999.

Abed Abdi has erected a number of memorial monuments and murals: in 1976 -- a sculpture to commemorate Land Day; in 1984 -- the memorial to commemorate 75 years for the existence of the Galilean municipality of Shefa Amr. In addition, he has painted a number of murals in Haifa, Jaffa and Nazareth.

Abed Abdi has exhibited in Qatar, Israel, Belgium and Bulgaria. He has participated in over 45 group exhibitions, among them the joint Palestinian-Israeli exhibition "It's possible" which toured the US and Germany between 1988 and 1990. In 1995 he participated in the second exhibition for Palestinians and Israelis in Germany. His work appeared in the "Solidarity with the Palestinian People" exhibit in Tokyo, Berlin, Brussels, Belgrade and Athens. He also organized and participated in exhibitions with Israeli and Palestinian artists in Tel-Aviv, Haifa and West Jerusalem in the period between 1980 and 1987 defending the freedom of expression and creativity.

Abdi is an active member of the Haifa branch of the Israeli Association of Painters and Sculpturers, as well as the Jewish-Arab Center of Beit Hagefen. This has enabled him to unite Palestinian and Israeli artists, and organize joint exhibitions, bringing the prospects of peace closer. Abdi founded the Ibda' society for the promotion of visual arts in the Arab Israeli sector and Arabelle - Visual Arts Workshop in Haifa, for the promotion of the visual arts and intercultural dialogue through the arts. Abdi is president of Al Midan Theater in Hafia. He has been teaching fine arts in the Arab Pedagogical College in Haifa since 1985.

References

  • Kamal Boullata / The Encyclopedia of the Palestinians/ Philip Mattar, ed. The Encyclopedia of the Palestinians. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2000.
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