We are inviting Arabs back to Mdina says Paul-Gordon Chandler as he explains to Veronica Stivala how his contribution to the Mdina Contemporary Art Biennale brings with it a message about respecting the ‘other’.

Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandeler’s Donkey Project will be travelling to Malta for the Mdina Biennale.

It’s not every day that eastern and western religions sit happily side by side. Then again, it’s not that common either to find an entrepreneurial priest who has launched a plethora of interfaith seminars and events and who has been CEO and director of a number of top non-governmental companies in the US and the UK.

Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler is the brains behind Caravan, which started in 2009 in Cairo, Egypt, as an interfaith arts festival, and which has since grown into a movement that encourages the creeds and cultures of the East and West to journey together through the arts.

Chandler’s philosophy is that art bring people together and encourages communication between people of different faiths. “I am more passionate about interfaith friendships that interfaith dialogue,” he notes, explaining that this is admittedly more difficult to bring about because friendship involves the investment of yourself in the ‘other’ in some way or another.

Fundamentally, this priest wants to stress that the West and East actually have a tremendous amount in common, but we tend to focus on the differences. He uses the symbol of the Islamic faith to explain his point:

“The symbol of Islamic faith is the crescent, but that’s only the part of the moon that we can see because of the reflection, but the majority of the moon is dark. The dark side of the moon – its majority – is what we have in common and that little sliver is what is different.

“But we can never see what we have in common because we are blinded by all that illumination of our differences. The challenge is for us to build relationships with the other on the dark side of the moon.”

The arts can serve as one of the most effective mediums of building bridges

Caravan’s events have taken on multiple forms: from art festivals and exhibitions, to seminars, lectures, artist exchanges, consultancy to patronage and so on. All events have a charitable aim and seek to help those in need in the Middle East, be it through economic, social or physical aid.

Furthermore, Caravan uses sacred spaces and exhibits art related to a theme that has something to do with loving or respecting the ‘other’, especially those of different faiths and cultures, within the sacred spaces.

Explaining further, Chandler notes: “The arts can serve as one of the most effective mediums of building bridges of respect, understanding, sharing and friendship between the creeds and cultures of the East and West. These are largely Islam and Christianity, but also other monotheistic faiths that come out of the Middle East: Judaism, Druze and others like the Baha’i and various Islamic sects.”

Chandler’s projects have taken many forms but one noteworthy project, and one which will be travelling to Malta is the Donkey Project.

Prompted by the trend towards public art after the revolution in Egypt, Chandler and his team decided to do something with public art and use the cow concept [an international public art exhibition where fiberglass cows were dotted over major cities the world over], but with a donkey instead of its symbolism.

The animal links the two faiths, for example, in Christianity it symbolises peace (Jesus came into Jerusalem on a donkey) and in Islam, the second Caliph, Omar Ibn El Kattab, comes into Jerusalem, again on a donkey.

Forty-five artists from the Middle East and the West, including top names who sell at Christies and Sotheby’s, were each given two donkeys: one lifesize and a smaller version which is easier to sell. Artists could do whatever they wanted with it but for each the donkey symbolises the artists’ message that the way forward is in peace and with compassion.

The exhibition originally started in the Anglican Church in Cairo, following which the donkeys were sent to different buildings and locations over Cairo. The donkeys have also travelled to St Paul’s Cathedral in London where they were placed all walking in the same direction, symbolically between Jerusalem and Mecca.

Six of these donkeys are being brought to Malta.

The Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale 2015 will be held from November 2015 to January 2016 and includes Maltese and international artists working in different art forms.

www.mdinabiennale.org