Video artist, photographer, lecturer and art writer in new media. His fields of specialties are visual studies, multi-media studies and the art, culture and history of visual aesthetics.
Ramadan has published several articles and books, the latest Peripheral Insiders, Museum Tusculanum, Copenhagen University Press 2007.
He has serious experience in planning and curating film and video festivals, and is the founder of the Made in Video festival for the Film Institute in Copenhagen, the Coding-Decoding documentary festival at Nikolaj, Copenhagen Art Center, and at Museum for Contemporary Art, Roskilde, the Video Festival Not on satellite – video and experimental documentary – at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, May 2007. He has also curated From the Middle East with Love, Santiago de Compostela, Spain 2007.
Ramadan was part of several juries, latest was the AMAL Film Festival, Spain 2007.
He has a large list of video and documentary production and his works are shown around the world at many major festivals, TV stations and museums, like Cinema Paris, Hamburg Film Festival 2007, Docu-days Beirut, Video Brazil, Der Kunstwerk in Berlin and the Film Festival in Sidney and San Francisco.
He is the founder of Chamber of Public Secrets and the independent institute, Chamber for Interventional Media – institute for electronic, didactic and analytical art www.chamber.dk and www.chamberarchive.com
Ramadan is member of the Danish Art Society and the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art, IKT.
Currently Ramadan holds a position as lecturer at Copenhagen University and as documentary maker at Nexus Communication A/S.
As a senior Research Curator at the Third Guangzhou Triennial, September 2008, Guangdong Museum of Modern Art, China, Ramadan will jointly curate the Guangzhou Triennial together with Hans Ulrich Obrist, Hou Hanru, Gao Shiming, Johnson Chang and Sarat Maharaj.
Biography
Born in Beirut, based in Denmark, Lebanon and Finland
Education
2001 Ph.D Cand. Art History. Copenhagen University.
1994-95 Edinburgh College of Art.
1993 The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Sculpture Department
1990 Master Degree. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture.
Conception and realisation of thematic academic activities, lectures and teaching – selected:
2005 Examinator Royal Academy of Fine Art, Copenhagen
2002-05 Lecturer at Copenhagen University Institute of Art History, and guest lecturer at the Royal Academy of Fine Art, Copenhagen.
2002 Examinator at Funen Academy of Fine Arts.
2001-2002 Consultant and curator for NIFCA, Helsinki.
Conception and organisation of symposiums, conferences and lecture series selected:
2008 Guangdong Museum of Art, China
2007 University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain
2006 Bergen Academy of Art. Norway
2004 Organizing lecture with artist Mona Hatoum at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, April 2004.
2003 Lecture at the conference “Art, Architecture and the Public Sphere,”
2003KIASMA Museum for Modern Art, Helsinki, FIN, September 2003.
2002 Debate at Charlottenborg Exhibition Space, Copenhagen,
2002 with Documenta 11 co-curator Sarat Maharaj, Gold Smith College, UK.
2000-2002 Conferences and seminars with Professor and Art Historian Thomas McEvilley, NY, USA; Artist and Professor Rasheed Araeen, UK; Curator and Theorist Gavin Jantjes, Heine Onstad Kunstsenter, N; Chief Curator Marit Hope, Riks Utstillinger, N; Art Critic Simon Sheikh, Art Academy Malmö, S; Chief Curator Maaretta Jaukkuri, KIASMA
2002 Museum, Helsinki, F; Artist Carlos Capelan, Art Academy, Bergen, N.
2001 Co-editor of the art journal ARSIS, published by Art Council of Finland.
2001 Founder of the Art Experimentarium and the art group Conglomerate
2001 Founder of the Chamber of Public Secrets, Copenhagen, Berlin and Helsinki.
Delivered papers:
Conferences and symposiums, in Norway, Sweden, China, Egypt, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Austria, Beirut, Iceland, and United Arab Emirates. These papers have been published in the books and journals of these countries.
Curated Monographic exhibitions – selected:
2008 Third Guangzhou Triennial, China, special program.
2007 From the Middle East with Love, AMAL Film Festival, Santiago, Spain
2007 “Not on Satellite” Video and experimental documentary program about the Middle East. Venues: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid http://www.museoreinasofia.es/portada/portada.php?
2006 Coding Decoding. International video program on the Middle East.
In cooperation with Nikolaj, Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre and Contemporary Art Museum, Roskilde.
2006 Made in Video, on video activism and citizen journalism. Copenhagen first international video festival.
2006 ROUTES, video documentary project about the Middle East. Features Stine Hoxbroe – Lina Khatib, Larissa Sansour, Tisha Mukarji, and Shula Lipski
2005 ACCENT, Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde
2004 Video News on Demand (Beirut KALAM). See copemhagen.dk in April 2004
Video screening project by Lebanese artists Jala Toufik, Khalil Joreige, Joana Hadjithomas, Rabih Mourué, Lamia Joreige, , Fouad Elkoury, Rita Ibrahim, Nadim Tabet and Marika Seidler.
2004 Kirkhoff, I-N-K, RACA, Bosch / Fjord, YNKB, Fri University, and Rum46.
2004 5 Million Peace March, Overgaden.org
2003 “Right to Strike First Club”, PIO-DIAZ. DK.
2002 “H2O”, Christian Dam Gallery. DK.
2002 Initiator of the international visual art project “Clockwise” www.nifca.org
2002 “Clockwise”, Vejle Museum. DK. Cooperation with curator Stine Høholt.
2002 “Clockwise”, Sparwasser, Berlin. D.
2002 “Clockwise”, Bergstubel, Mitte, Berlin. D.
2002 “Error-ISM”, Christian Dam Gallery. DK
2002 “norden@world”, Frederik’s Bastion. DK.
2001 “Nordic Object”, Nordic House. Iceland.
Publications:
2007 Peripheral Insider, Perspectives on Contemporary Internationalism in Visual Culture. Published by Museum Tusculanum, Copenhagen University Press, March 2007 http://www.mtp.hum.ku.dk/details.asp?eln=200733
2006 Urban Art Stories, The OBS, news paper, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2006 Paranoia book project, London edited by Predrag Pajdic.
2006 KOSMORAMA, Film Institute publication on film and new media.
2003-04 Special Dossier. With Anders Michalsen in Atlantica art journal nr 35.
2003 Editor Antonio and Octavio Zaya
2003 Essay in the international anthology: Under [de]construction, perspective on
visual culture and performance. NIFCA. Publication no. 8.
2003 Art Error Ism. Published by NIFCA.
2002 Co-initiated the book project Art Error ISM, NIFCA 2001-2002.
2002 ISIM www.isim.nl/resources.
2002 Essay in the international anthology: We are All Normal and We want our Freedom. Editors Simone Sheikh and Katja Sander
2001 Articles. NIFCA INFO (3/01, 4/01).
2001 Articles. Politiken and Information. DK.
2001 Guest pen. Aktuelt. DK.
2000 Variety within Unity. DK.
1996 Tree Dimensions. DK.
1994 Souvenir. DK.
Text and Reviews:
2003 Kunst Forum, Germany.
2003 Flash Art, Italy.
2003 Frieze, Germany.
2003 Kunstavisen, Berlingske Tidende, Politiken, BKF Bladet, Samvirke, Aktuelt, the annual art book Dansk Kunst, North Information, Kunst, Denmark 1994-2002
Conception and realisation of thematic exhibitions – selected:
2009 After Midnight – group exhibition – Backyard Gallery
2008 Casino Luxemburg. Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst (NGBK) Berlin.
2008 UNCLASSIFIABLE, curated by Jenny Yurshansky & Jacqueline Hoang Nguyen, New York.
2008 Machine-RAUM biennale for video art and digital culutre.
2008 Repressive Tolerance 4 Ever? – group exhibbition, Backyard Gallery.
2007 IN FOCUS http://test.infocusdialogue.com/ Tate Modern, Contemporary Art Platform
2007 Dazed Gallery, The Arts Club. curator Predrag Pajdic.
2007 4th Ars Baltica Triennial of Photographic Art. Stadgalerie Kiel, Germany. Casino Luxemburg. www.arsbalticatriennial.org. Pori Art Museum, Finland, KUMU Art Museum Estonia. Curated by Dorothee Bienert, Kativ Kivinen, Enrico Lunghi
2007 Paranoia, Focal Point Gallery, Southend, Freud Museum, London, UK.
2007 3ed Sydney Arab Film Festival. International Hamburg Short Film Festival.
2007 Art Port, Lower Manhattan Cultural Center, NYC. Curated by Jacqueline Hoang Nguyen and Jenny Yurshansky. “Not on Satellite” Video and experimental documentary program about the MiddleEast. Venues: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid http://www.museoreinasofia.es/portada/portada.php?
2007 DocuDays: Beirut International Documentary Festival, Beirut, Lebanon.
2007 29th Mediterranean Film Festival of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
2007 Festival du Film Libanais, né à Beyrouth, Beirut, Lebanon.
2007 11th Annual Arab Film Festival, San Francisco, California, USA.
2006 Ileana Tounta Galley, Athens, Greece.
2006 UNCLASSIFIABLE, Künstlerhaus Bethanien Freiluftkino Kreuzberg , Curators, Jenny Yurshansky and Jacqueline Hoang Nguyen www.unclassifiable.org.
2006 Paranoia, Freud Museum Museum London, www.aionarap.org
2006 Festival International de Film et Video de Creation Cinéma Empire Sofil, curator Nat Muler, Achrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon.
2006 Hit the North, Nordic Film and Video Art, www.filmform.com. Docuday Festival, Beirut Masrah Al-Madinah. Bio-Colonialism, Overgaden institute of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen.
2005: 15th Videobrasil International Electronic Art Festival, September 06 and 25, 2005 at SESC Pompéia, São Paulo, Brazil. www.videobrasil.org.br
http://www.sescsp.org.br/sesc/videobrasil/vbonline/bd/index.asp?cd_entidade=232179&cd_idioma=18535
2005 Festival Nés à Beyrouth. 2005:“e-flux video rental” Berlin, organised by e-flux and KW KUNST-WERKE BERLIN e.V. Institute for Contemporary Art.
2005 ACCENT, Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde
2005 Program: ME, Porgram De Midea Eletronica 2005. New Media Festival, Rio De Janeiro
2004: Minority Report, Aarhus Art Building.
2004 Southern Exposure, SAN FRANCISCO. “The Way We Work” presented by United Net-Works, SE.
2004 Zico House, Beirut, Lebanon.
2004 Overgaden, 5 Million Peace March. Copenhagen.
2004 Island Art Film & Video Festival 2004, Prenelle Gallery www.prenelle.com
2004 2003: Neue Dokumente, Mitte, Berlin.
2004 Santiago Video Art Biennale. Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Santiago. Curator, Ximena Narea. http://www.heterogenesis.com/Informacion/Limes%202003/Bienal.htm.
2004 Neue Galerie Graz am Landesmuseum Joanneum. Curators: Peter Weibel, Günther Holler-Schuster. See http://www.stmk.gv.at/verwaltung/lmj-ng/03/mars/mars_e.html
2004 Göteborg Biennial IDEOLOGIA. S. See www.ideologia.net
2002: Sparwasser. Berlin. http://www.sparwasserhq.de/Index/calender.htm#Anker139617
2002 Bergstubl Berlin D. Overgaden. DK. Christian Dam Gallery. DK. Vejle Kunstmuseum. DK. Museumscenter Aars. DK.
2001: Trans-Form, Stenersen Museum. Oslo. N. Konstnärshuset. Stockholm. S. 2001 Leena Kuumola Gallery. FIN. Nordic House. IS. Push.Firma.Beige. FIN.
2001 Scandinavian Furniture Fair. DK. 2000: Peep Radio project. North. DK. DGS. 2001 Art Copenhagen. DK.
2001Sofienholm. Lyngby. DK.
2001 Kongens Have Biennial. DK.
2001 Kungsparken Biennial. S. Narva Art Museum. EST.
1998: Gallery Concorde. DK. Ex Libris 98. CDN.
1997: Agora Gallery. NY. USA.
1996: Gallery Project. DK. North Jutland Art Museum. DK. Salon d’automme. Soursouq. LB.
1995: The Gallery at Heatherslaw Mill. UK. The Danish Cultural Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland.
1994: Agial Art Gallery. LB. 1992: Glyptoketet Museum. BU. DK. State’s Museum of Art. DK. Politiken’s Hall. DK.
Work in public and in collections:
Represented in Copenhagen Main Library.
Hvidovre Municipality City Hall.
Copenhagen Business College, Frederiksberg.
Valby Bydel, Copenhagen.
Narva Museum for Modern Art, Estonia.
Copenhagen Harbour. Faelledvejkarreen, Copenhagen.
The Royal Park, Malmö, Sweden.
Artist of the year IRMA 2003.
Awards and grants:
2003 Nordic Art Centre, Dalsaasen. Bergen, N.
2001 Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art. Helsinki, FIN.
1998 E. Hoffmeyer. The Danish National Bank. DK.
1998 The Danish Institute in Damascus. DK.
1992 Amnesty International – with exhibition in Politiken’s Hall.