Banksy Opens Walled Off Hotel In West Bank With Hopes Of Enticing Israelis & Other World Travelers

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Banksy Opens Walled Off Hotel In West Bank With Hopes Of Enticing Israelis & Other World Travelers

British activist artist Banksy has launched Walled Off Hotel with the hope of enticing Israeli tourists -- and dialogue -- to the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Banksy says his Walled Off Hotel has "the worst view of any hotel in the world."Worse yet, the hotel's 1- rooms get just 25 minutes of direct sunlight a day.

Nestled against the controversial wall separating Israel from the Palestinian territories, Banksy's latest act of brilliance is a hotel, museum, protest site and art gallery all in one.

Netflix's 'The White Helmets' About Syrian Crisis Takes Home First Oscar Win

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Netflix's 'The White Helmets' About Syrian Crisis Takes Home First Oscar Win

Netflix's film 'The White Helmets', the story of volunteer rescue workers in Syria, took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Sunday.  The victory was a wonderful first win for Netflix, distributor of the film. 

The 40-minute film follows three rescue workers with the White Helmets -- also known as the Syrian Civil Defense -- who train in Turkey to provide emergency medical assistance to civilians caught in Syria's civil war.

AOC has tracked in the month of Feb. efforts to bring cinematographer and press officer for the White Helmets Khaled Khatib to the US.  The leader of the White Helmets Raed Saleh was also unable to obtain the necessary travel documents. There is no doubt that the two men were originally caught up in the Trump administration's Muslim ban.  The situation appeared to be on the verge of resolution but fell apart again days before the Oscars. 

Second Fez International Artists Gathering Explores Art's Role In Times of Crisis

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The 2017 gathering from January 12-14 in Fez, Morocco includes a group exhibition and conference panels exploring more typical topics like 'photography and documentary films' or 'art in education' but also a more timely one like 'art, islam, and extremism'. 

Pascual Jordan, of Werkstatt Galerie in Berlin, and photographer Evi Blink, who participated in last year’s edition as a panelist, after undertaking a photographic research project on Moroccan women, will curate the group exhibition. The duo work closely with Omar Chennafi, founder of the event.

The 14 artists come from Morocco, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the US, each of them dealing with themes of political or personal crisis in their work. The curators explain: "We open this exhibition for an existential discourse about identity, poverty, war, freedom, and art." via ArtNet