Until 24 September (except from 31 July to 21 August), Casa Árabe’s Sala de Columnas in Madrid is showing the exhibition Arenas movedizas (Shifting Sands). Admission is free until full capacity is reached. The exhibition, curated by David Drake, is the winning project of the latest edition of the Nur call for entries and forms part of the PhotoEspaña 2023 Festival.
A sustainable future for all societies depends on a rooted and respectful human relationship with the natural world. In the Arab world, the challenge of maintaining this balance has been exacerbated by political instability, over-intensive agriculture and construction, deforestation, the diversion of waterways and, more recently, the global climate emergency.
Arenas movedizas / Shifting Sands presents five interrelated projects by award-winning young photographers from North Africa and the Middle East, each with a strong creative vision that poetically addresses, for different reasons and purposes, similar issues in their respective territories and environments.
Many layers of history and memory, personal and collective, are inscribed in the landscapes we inhabit, both in their natural state and those that have been altered by man. Rapid population growth and urbanisation have brought dramatic changes to a variety of original environments and habitats. These transformations displace ancient communities and have significant social, geopolitical and environmental impacts.
Each of the five projects in the exhibition contains a call to action: how we can use the land sustainably, ensure the conservation of biodiversity and the provision of clean water, respect traditional ways of life while advancing and embracing modernity, thus maintaining our sacred bond with mother nature.
