Arts Lab 7.0: Aya Hossameldin Saad Mohamed | Month III - Colored Shadows

This month was different from the previous two months. We had already begun working on the artistic residency related to Jemom in the last month; however, this month marked a deeper engagement and the actual implementation of our plan. Since the first time I read about the story of the Jewish train, through which dozens of people were killed, I have continuously reflected on the fact that this story represents a tragedy of humanity itself. I believed that such an event should be conveyed through people more expressively than merely presenting it as a conventional artwork. An idea emerged to collaborate with my fellow artists in creating a performance that would express the mixed emotions associated with this story. This was the first collaboration involving such a large number of artists within this program. Convincing Mihaela was somewhat challenging, but eventually we succeeded. This process involved countless ideas, discussions, and meetings, regular gatherings among us as colleagues to discuss all concepts twice daily.

Expressive, symbolic through acting and movement, live shadows, and light shadows.

These were the words I used to articulate my vision for this performance. I wanted this experience to be deeply emotional, allowing the audience to feel the story through interaction and emotional communication, reflected through our expressive performance.

Rehearsals, discussions, adjustments, and rehearsals again, repeated throughout the day and every day. We all invested our emotions and ideas into this performance through writing, acting, dance, lighting, music, and sound effects.

During this period, the artistic residency also took place at the same school with which I had previously collaborated; however, this time it was in a different classroom with older children. Teaching them about history was somewhat difficult and challenging, especially given the tragic and deeply human nature of this story. It was a challenge to prepare historical educational materials that would not be emotionally shocking, as these children, who face various challenges, possess sensitive and delicate emotions.

I also wanted them to feel that they are special, important, and that we are all interconnected. Over the course of six days, I taught them how to express their emotions through drawing and coloring, as well as the meanings of colors and color psychology, and techniques of shading. They produced wonderful drawings that expressed their feelings toward this sad story, which inspired my colleague and me to develop a design based on their artwork. This design will be used to paint a mural on the school wall.

For me, this was my first experience painting on a wall. I did so at night on a rainy day. It was an enjoyable experience despite the difficulty of remaining outdoors for three hours in cold, rainy weather. Nevertheless, I truly enjoyed it. Over the following two days, we continued coloring and adding details together with the children. They enjoyed the process immensely, expressed themselves freely, and genuinely felt that they were part of a collective work. The final result is truly beautiful.

Returning to the rehearsals, the remaining days leading up to the performance were difficult and filled with arguments, discussions, and even conflicts with colleagues. However, I believe this is a natural part of collective work. I cannot deny that it was a challenging period, but I certainly learned a great deal. Conflicts can sometimes serve as a means of strengthening relationships. I was responsible for the writing, directing, and stage management, in addition to contributing my opinions regarding acting and dance in this performance. However, the most important aspect of my role was the lighting design and the execution of my ideas related to shadows. I had limited prior experience in directing and stage management, yet this performance allowed me to engage more deeply in these fields. Through this experience and opportunity, I learned a great deal and significantly expanded my practical and artistic knowledge.

On the day of the performance, it was truly magical. We reaped the fruits of our intense efforts throughout the month. We worked seriously, and the result was outstanding, an accomplished, interactive performance rich with collective artistic ideas.

This monthly report was written by Aya Hossameldin Saad Mohamed, our Egyptian volunteer taking part in a seven-month Arts Lab 7.0 mobility, co-funded by the European Union under the European Solidarity Corps.