Center for Contemporary Art Afghanistan (CCAA)

Why do we need a center for contemporary art Afghanistan?
At present, there are four art institutions in Afghanistan. Two of them are at the level of faculties located in Kabul and in Herat Provinces. They are run by the Ministry of Higher Education. The 3rd and the 4th ones, which are named "School of Fine Arts" and Ghulam Mohammad Maimanagi Artistic Center", located in Kabul, are supported by the Ministry of Culture and Information respectively.

From research work, it has been discovered that such institutions lack two important things about which students of arts do not have a chance to express their artistic talents. Their voices and opinions are not nourished. Instead, they are discouraged under the present educational system. Such educational institutions have also focused on traditional artistic systems and methods which require changes.

Developing student's technical skills during the four-year study for BA requires lots of new artistic movements and motivations. Under the old traditional system students will not be able to graduate neither with artistic talent, nor can they develop their artistic skills up to the level required. Therefore, art should be valued as a major discipline which should contribute to cultural development and the advancement of the society.

Objectives of the Center for Contemporary Art Afghanistan
1. CCAA will supply direct knowledge, and services of consciousness to students and professors who work within the art field
2. CCAA considers itself as a project, as an instrument for professors to work better inside the didactic field of art. CCAA will be a space and a tool at the same time
3. CCAA wants to offer a service that has as its goal to renew all artistic processes and fields
4. CCAA want s to show how art and all its fields and languages can use technology creatively
5. CCAA wants to offer to the political culture a pedagogical tool to share messages of progress
6. CCAA wants to have active cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Information, Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Education in special
7. CCAA wants to be a multi-media center that will offer a continuous consultation for artists, professors and students using simple standard technology
8. CCAA wants to give voices and opinions to artists, teachers and students in order to help both men and women raise equal possibility to have their individual talent come to surface

In order to implement these goals; we have the following programs in mind:
- The center will organize workshops and lectures by various national and international contemporary artists, designers, writers, critics, curators, anthropologists, sociologists and
architects
- The center will function as an exhibition space for young and older artists
- The center will provide public research opportunities by establishing a library with multi-media facilities
- The center will work towards establishing artistic residency programs in Kabul, as well as providing opportunities for Afghan artists to participate in various artistic residency programs abroad
- The center will have an archive of artists living in Afghanistan
- Rendering publication services for the purpose of evaluating the society’s artistic level of interest and learning towards art, especially the modern art
- Launching artistic competitions for encouraging artists

The present stand of CCAA:
CCAA at present is located at he office of "Gahnama-e-Hunar" art magazine where it utilizes the limited facilities availed there. As I am in charge and editor in chief of Ganmana-e-Hunar, that is why CCAA has started its activities at this center. It is of course clear, that we are attempting to make CCAA self-sufficient in the near future.

Up to now, CCAA has held three workshops through the guidance of the following 3 international artists: Sislej Xhafa (Kosovo), Prof. Eduardo Malagigi (University of Arts of Florence, Italy), Roya Ghiasy, (Afghan artist, lives in Amsterdam), whose workshops were held at the Faculty of Fine Arts, at the artistic courses of the Ministry of Information and Culture, and at CCAA itself, for young artist from various artistic centers, whose films and feature documents are available.

In order to continue such workshops, CCAA, is looking for some possibilities, but up to now, it doesn’t have any funding sources. It Is hoped to be able to absorb the cooperation of such references with the cooperation of the advisory board. It is expected that the members of this board provide us with practical consultations towards reaching our objectives.

Board members
Mr. A.W. Rahraw Omarzad, lecturer at the faculty Fine Arts in Kabul University and Chief Editor of Art Magazine (Gahnama-e- Hunar)
Mr. M. Hashim Shariq, Director of Art Center, Ministry of Information and Culture
Mrs. Roya Ghiasy, Aghan aArtist, lives between New York and the Netherlands
Ms. Husnia Sultan, student at the Faculty of Fine Art, Kabul University
Mrs. Rohafza Ghazal, student at the Faculty of Fine Art, Kabul University

Advisory board
Mr. Dr Spayed Makhdom Raheen, Minister of Information and Culture of Afghanistan
Mr. Rahnaward Zaryab, Cultural adviser, Ministry of Information and Culture of Afghanistan
Mr. M. Hashim Shariq, Director of Art center, Ministry of Information and Culture of Afghanistan
Mr. Qamarodine Cheshti, artist from Afghanistan
Mr. Edoardo Malagigi, Prof. of Design at the Florence Academy of Fine Arts, Italy
Mr. Michael O Donnell, Prof./Dean the National Academy of Fine Art, Oslo, Norway
Mr. Defne Ayas, Curator at the New Museum in New York
Mrs. Ann Deemester, Director of W139 in Amsterdam
Mr. Costanza Mazzonis, assistant at Anthony Reynolds in London
Mr. Hou Hanru, independent curator, lives in Paris
Mrs. Leeza Ahmady, independent curator, lives in New York
Mr. Edi Muka, independent curator, lives in Tirana
Mr. Frederic Levrat , Prof. of architecture, lives between New York and Kabul
Mr. Sislej Xhafa, artist, lives in Amsterdam

Best regards,

A.W. Rahraw Omarzad
Director of CCAA

Email address: CCAA_Kabul@yahoo.com
Mobile: 070282917

Address:
Charahi Malek Asghar Jadai Walayet Kabul Kochi Sari

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