Framer Framed

Foundland

Foundland Collective was formed in 2009 by South African Lauren Alexander and Syrian Ghalia Elsrakbi and since 2014 is based between Amsterdam and Cairo. The duo collaboration explores under represented political and historical narratives by working with archives via art, design, writing, educational formats, video making and storytelling. Throughout their development, the duo has critically reflected upon what it means to produce politically engaged work from the position of non-Western artists working between Europe and the Middle East.

Foundland was awarded the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship for research in the largest Arab American archive in 2015/2016 and was shortlisted for the Dutch Prix de Rome prize in 2015 as well as the Dutch Design Awards in 2016. In 2017 their short video, ‘The New World, Episode One‘ premiered at the Centre Pompidou, Paris and in 2018 was screened at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. The duo have lectured and exhibited widely in Europe, the United States and the Middle East including at ISPC, New York, Ars Electronica, Linz, Impakt Festival, Framer Framed, Amsterdam, and BAK, Utrecht, London Art Fair, Beursschouwburg, Brussels, Fikra Biennial, Sharjah and Tashweesh Feminist Festival, Cairo and Brussels.

Foundland has presented at many international exhibitions and festivals including Kadist Foundation, Paris (2012), Impakt Festival, Utrecht (2011, 2012), BAK, Utrecht (2012), Damascus Visual Arts Festival, Istanbul (2013) and Framer Framed, Amsterdam (2016, 2018).

The collective has participated in masterclasses and lecture presentations at Studium Generale ArtEZ, Arnhem, de Appel for Sandberg Institute, Amsterdam, The Royal Academy of Arts, The Hague, Studium Generale Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, the Dutch Art Institute, Arnhem and at the Athens Biennial.

Their essays and visuals have contributed to international journals such as Open! Magazine (The Netherlands), Krisis Magazine (Italy), Esse Magazine (Canada) and Ibraaz, a Middle East online journal. Recent artist residencies include the Townhouse Gallery, Cairo (2013) and ISCP, New York (2014).

In 2015, Foundland was awarded the Smithsonian artist research award for research in the Alixa Naff Collection and was nominated for the oldest Dutch art award, called the Prix de Rome (2015).

Several of Foundland’s video works are preserved and distributed by the Dutch media art archive LIMA, Amsterdam.