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شو قولك: مهرجان الأردن | Have your Say: Jordan Festival

June 29, 2010 31 Comments

أعلنت رابطة الكتاب الأردنيين ونقابة الفنانين الأردنيين مقاطعتهما لما وصفتاه “الحفـل الفني المسمى دون وجـه حـق “مهـرجــان الأردن”. المهرجان ينظم من قبل هيئة أهلية تسمى “جمعية أصدقاء مهرجانات الأردن” ويقام هذا العام في جبل القلعة من خلال توأمة مع مهرجانات بيت الدين في لبنان.

وجاء في بيان المقاطعة المشترك الذي صدر عن الرابطة والنقابة ” أما فعاليات المهرجان لهذا العام فيغلب عليها الطابع النخبوي الذي يبعدها عن أن تكون نشاطا جماهيريا أهليا يلبي احتياجات الجمهور الأردني، فهي في معظمها لا تخرج عن حدود حفلات فنية وموسيقية من نمط واحد قد يلبي احتياجات بعض “رجال المال والأعمال” من طبقة مؤسسي الجمعية الغريبة، وقد يناسب ذوقهم الفني، ولكنه نمط معزول بعيد عن اهتمام الجمهور العام. وقد تم استبعاد الفعاليات الأدبية والثقافية والفنية التي تقع في صلب العملية الثقافية كالشعر والمسرح والفنون التشكيلية والفنون الأدائية وغيرها. وألغيت مشاركة الفرق الشعبية الأردنية التي كانت تتكفل بإضفاء الطابع المحلي بما تحمله مشاركتها من علامات الخصوصية والهوية…”

يمكن قراءة بقية البيان هنا، والاطلاع على برنامج المهرجان هنا.

هل تتفق أو تختلف مع ما جاء في البيان؟ ما رأيك في برنامج فعاليات المهرجان؟ هل ترى أن هناك مشكلة في تسمية المهرجان “مهرجان الأردن”؟ ما هو شعورك ورأيك حيال إلغاء مهرجان جرش؟ هل كنت من رواد جرش؟ هل حضرت أيا من عروض مهرجان الأردن في العامين الماضيين؟ هل تنوي حضور فعاليات مهرجان هذا العام؟ في أول عام لمهرجان الأردن أشرفت عليه هيئة تنشيط السياحة، وفي العام الثاني وزارة الثقافة، وهذا العام هيئة مستقلة، من هي في رأيك الجهة التي يجب أن يوكل إليها تنظيم المهرجان؟
شارك برأيك هنا.

The Jordan Writers Association and the Artists Union announced their boycott of what they described as “the event unjustly called the “Jordan Festival”.”

The festival is organized by a private non-profit organization called Friends of the Jordan Festivals, founded in March 2010. It is held at the Citadel and in collaboration with Beiteddine Festivals in Lebanon.
The boycott statement by the writers association and artists union stated (roughly translated) “the festival’s events this year are mostly elitist in character and far from being a populist local activity that satisfies the needs of the Jordanian audience. Most events are concerts of a specific pattern that fulfills the needs of some “businessmen” of the same class as the organization’s founders and suits their taste, but it’s a pattern isolated from the interests of the general public. Literary and artistic activities that are at the heart of the cultural process have been excluded such as poetry, theater, and visual and performing arts. The participation of folklore Jordanian groups, which would have guaranteed a local flavor, has been canceled…”
You can read the rest of the statement here (Arabic), and see the Festival’s full schedule here.

Do you agree or disagree with the statement? What do you think of the festival’s schedule? Do you see a problem with calling it the “Jordan Festival”? How did you feel about canceling the Jerash Festival? Did you attend the Jerash festival? Did you attend any of the Jordan festival events in the past two years? Are you planning to attend any of this year’s concerts? In the first year of the Jordan Festival it was supervised by the Jordan Tourism Board, and in the second year the Ministry of Culture before being handed over this year to an independent organization. Who do you think should handle this festival?

Have your say here.

John

Interesting
Haitham

Way to go, such a strong message! Seems things are not the same anymore!
Guest

I agree with the statement and their concerns, although I do think it has a tinge of personal bitterness to it (they were not included etc…).
Definitely a problem with calling it the Jordan festival: Jordanian elements are very limited, it is not accessible to Jordanian audiences, and there is not outreach or interactive program. not that calling it the Jordan festival should be a celebration of nationalism or patriotism, but it should be “from” Jordan, as well as an eye-opener to the world. It is a great shame and a worrying trend of capitalism and money-making direction for arts and culture in Jordan, 7aram…. The Jerash festival had its problems but it was eclectic, of high quality (unlike mainly commercialism of this festival), and attracted huge crowds to another city (something out of amman) to a very varied program presenting different aspects of jordanian society as well as popular and established Arab acts.
I think they should call this the Summer festival or something and reserve it to the elites they are targeting.
Saed

Yeeheeee

Here goes “Jordan” again, trying to appeal to others rather than its own people. I would love to have a HUGE festival for the underdog artists in Amman who I know of but have never witnessed. The artists who work in Makan and other places and who have a point to give, as Locals with a point of view.

Enough with the mainstream and other artists, Jordan's own artists are beginning to appear and it's time for us to harness that growing passion in our people and let it get affect LOCALS.

Call it “Elite festival for people who don't wanna see Jordanian stuff but rather things from outside of jordan which are just here to make money and milk people”.
Guest2

Sorry for the long post! but I am in the industry and I do not like to see an event called “Jordan Festival” collapse!

1- to have a concrete festival, planning should be done at least a year (if not two) in advance to be able to increase efficiency and decrease costs

2- the choice of artists: was it based on a market research or was it only based on Beitelldeen choice of artists?

3- Does the festival target tourists or locals? here it makes all the difference in terms of choice of venues, exclusive artists to Jordan only, pricing, marketing, etc.

4- What services are offered? “value for money”

5- Jordan festival implies different cities in Jordan, not only Amman >> maybe logistically (and due to the limited time span) it was only done at the Citadel >> economies of scale!

6- local performances: I would have liked more local performances to be available >>> trust me those will attract more people than some of the acts coming

7- I agree that the target is majorly a certain segment with a relatively higher status/income … however, those would rather and afford to go to Lebanon and watch the concert at Beiteldeen instead!

8- A package ticket could have been done for more than one concert

9- what “know how” would Beiteldeen offers!!!!!! we are a completely different market with different suppliers ,,,, the “know how” should have been from someone inside the market

I have so much to say on this topic >>> but again, the time span that was given to the organizers was short ,,,,

Why not empower the already existing events in Jordan as part of the festival >> someone with a good idea for an event and a solid implementation plan with some funding from the sponsors attained!
Tarawnah

first…..the jordan festival is taking place in a single venue…the citadel…in amman. not in jerash, or irbid or karak or nationwide…but in one place and, surprise, it's the capital.

second…the organizers chose THE most widely accessibly places for buying tickets and that includes, according to their site:

# City Mall-Virgin Mega Store
# Al Barakeh Mall
# Cozmo
# Blue Fig Abdoun
# Zara Expo
# Rainbow Street (Al Mattal المطل)
# Al Wakalat Street

so if you live in karak or ajloun…come to rainbow street or Blue Fig, and buy your ticket

third…omar abdallat is not participating….nuff said.

the government's response? “it was outsourced to a private company so we have nothing to do with it….but don't worry…we've got some free festivals for the poor people”: http://ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=63899
raghdabutros

Some other important points regarding the location of the festival which will be held, in its entirety, in Jabal Qalaa:

1. One of the reasons given for canceling the Jerash Festival was that Jordan has varied locations at which to hold performances and so they should not be limited to only one part of the country. How does that fit into holding the entire event in Jabal Qalaa?

2. The people of the Jabal Qalaa neighborhood will be subjected to loud music for two whole months from concerts which they could never afford to attend, even if they wanted to.

3. The community was never consulted, included, or involved in the process of planning for the Festival which is taking place in their own backyard. They were not even given the chance to volunteer or take part in any way.

4. The Festival will not benefit the community in any way. Apparently, they promised them a booth at which to sell their wares (whatever those may be) but even that has not materialized.

It's really about time to recognize the people of Jordan as assets and resources, not burdens and accessories to the fact. Events in the name of our country, and projects within it should be for us, the people of Jordan, not for the benefit of a tiny privileged minority of for visitors who may or may not bother to show up.
http://twitter.com/YanalJO Yanal Al Hasan

People you should face it, this is a private company. Therefore, they can do whatever they want. They can bring 2 year olds to the stage and leave them to entertain us with their cries. It's THEIR choice.

Our problem is with the government that made that possible by selling such a big event with a big name to these guys. The show organizers can target whoever they want and can bring anyone who can benefit their festival the most(And I personally like what they did). The discussion about the festival itself is not valid in this case.

If you're going to throw a party, you would not want anyone to argue with you about it because it's yours.

But if it's supposed to be the people's party (Jordanian Festival) and the government sells it to someone which basically says to the organizers buying it “You can go mess up with it as much as u want” then you should know who to blame…
لينا

المشكلة أن هذه المؤسسة الأهلية انشئت خصيصا لتنظيم هذا المهرجان، ونسي من أوكل إليهم هذه المهمة أن مهرجان الأردن جاء مكان مهرجان جرش، الذي كان متنوعا ومناسبا لعدة أذواق وعدة خلفيات وإمكانات مادية

فعلا هي مشكلة تسميته “مهرجان الاردن” لان الاسم يولد توقعات معينة، وتقديمه على أنه البديل عن جرش يولد توقعات معينة… بعدين لاحظ إنه موقع المهرجان بس بالانجليزي، شو معنى هذا؟

فليسموا هذا المهرجان “مهرجان القلعة” و ما في داعي يعملوا مؤتمر صحفي للاعلان عنه يضم كل الصحافة. يعني لازمهم “براندينغ” مختلف
bambambi

I find the outcry just becoming cliche, if this is a private company that is being established and there are a lot of people complaining about it … why not establish a private company that would do the job that you guys want and give jordan another festival?
Personally i think the association is a mummified piece of fried dung for pulling the same move they pulled 2 years ago. Last year the festival came based on all the whiners requests, it was more arabic, and it was more jordanian and guess what it … it flopped. So until you put your money where your mouth is, please shut up and enjoy.
http://twitter.com/AqAbAwE Mamoun Saudi

this festival sucks! why even call it 'Mahrajan Al-Urdun' when the class E ticket (basically sitting next to the restrooms) is 30 jds ! tell me how the average Jordanian family of 3-4 kids would be able to attend? did we come to a time where even entertainment is solely for the filthy rich?
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Abucake

last year less funding more jordanian acts
this year more funding less jordanian acts…

we can find a place in between if someone is willing to invest more jordanian acts…

also you can't deny that if they had a show for Omar 3abdallat or mit3ib el saggar and had a decent ticket price they would make more money than bringing pop opera band for a very high ticket price…but it seemsthat they don't wan't that crowd or meybe they consider it not art!!!!!!!!!!
then you cna bring a local oriental fusion band like sign of thyme and have the ticket price also decent , you then give the chance to people with a certain taste that is not mainstrea (orientla jazz!!!) enjoy and they will be willing to pay, and still you can have another ticket range for the rest of the citizens to expose them to such style…am not gonna go on in suggestions…all am trying to say is we are ” ya to55o ya iksir mo55o!!!”…there is a place in the middle..

beiteldeen: Its a known festival buti don't think it has anything to do with what we ar esuppose to be claling Jordan festival!!!

my main point: THE WEBSITE OF JORDAN FESTIVAL IS ONLY IN ENGLISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

TELL ME: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!!!!!! even if everbody in the whole country speaks english……how come an annual cultural event holding the name of the country not promote itself in the language of the country…..

its like our own cultural events are trying to wipe out our culture!!!!!!!!
raghdabutros

@bambambi The organizing body is not a private company, it is a non-profit organization that has recently been established and which the government is partnering with to organize this event. By the sound of their name, they may also be asked to handle other future cultural events and festivals around Jordan. A non-profit organization is by nature one which aims to achieve positive social impact, and so saying this is a private company that can do whatever it wants, without taking into account the impact of their actions, or the viewpoint of Jordan arts and cultural community at the very least is really not correct. Even private companies, which this is not, have an obligation to think of their impact on the communities where they operate.

The people on the committee for the event are good, well-meaning people and I don't think they set out to make the event so exclusive, but they were catering to their own taste and that of their peers. There needs to be a balance whereby the people who are chosen to sit on such committees represent a wider spectrum of the Jordanian public so that more points of view are represented and events both appeal to and are accessible to a much larger percentage of the Jordanian population.
raghdabutros

The organizing body is not a private company, it is a non-profit organization that has recently been established and which the government is partnering with to organize this event. By the sound of their name, they may also be asked to handle other future cultural events and festivals around Jordan. A non-profit organization is by nature one which aims to achieve positive social impact, and so saying this is a private company that can do whatever it wants, without taking into account the impact of their actions, or the viewpoint of Jordan arts and cultural community at the very least is really not correct. Even private companies, which this is not, have an obligation to think of their impact on the communities where they operate.

The people on the committee for the event are good, well-meaning people and I don't think they set out to make the event so exclusive, but they were catering to their own taste and that of their peers. There needs to be a balance whereby the people who are chosen to sit on such committees represent a wider spectrum of the Jordanian public so that more points of view are represented and events both appeal to and are accessible to a much larger percentage of the Jordanian population.
bambambi

@Raghda I didn't even read the English part and went with a translation of how it was described in Arabic but that doesn't change much from what i was complaining about in my comment. Let there be no mistake that i also find that the festival has a lot of flaws but those can be addressed in a much more constructive manner (something i apparently don't do much off) but that is beside the point I'm trying to make in the comment. The idea that the festival is not for profit doesn't go in-line with the reason that the jerash festival was cancelled or evaluation that the previous 2 jordan festivals recieved. they were all evaluated on how much money they lost and how little money they could have made.

There are 2 points i'm trying to make;
The first … The artists association, to me as an observer, always seems like a road block to this festival and instead of being involved and supportive they try to sabotage it. That furthers no one's interest. So just like the journalist's association, and the engineering association they are archaic constructs that stop progress.
The second is that people who complain about how unarabic the event is definitely didn't support a much more arabic event last year. and in spite of the acts appeal to a wider segment of society the attendance was atrocious at best making it flop. and that's what makes me steam from the seams, because I try to go to as many cultural events as i can, and i try to support local and international events that occur in Jordan and the majority of them are free of charge or require a nominal fee and yet the one unifying feature that all those events have is that there is an absolute dearth of attendance… and its not because of timing, themes, cost or any of those reasons it is just because, IMHO, the majority of jordanians could give a rats ass about culture and in fact look down on anyone who appreciates it as in [fill-in-the-blank with your choice of colorful terms]
and if the artists associate cared about fostering culture it will be trying to work on this issue and be creative about it. … rather than complain.
ps. That 30 jd ticket pissed me off too but atleast i'm tempted to consider it because some of the acts interest me … something that was completely absent from last year's event
raghdabutros

While I definitely agree with you that more action is needed and less talk and complaint, I would like to mention a few points:

1. The Jerash Festival was well attended because it had a wide variety of events which appealed to Jordan and the region's diverse populations. It was losing money in the end, not due to lack of attendance, but due to the fact that it was starved of funding.

2. At last year's Jordan Festival, the RUM concert was packed. In fact, every RUM concert I've been to in Amman has been packed. Even the concert they did at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC was packed. Yet, they were not approached to take part in this year's festival.

3. The free concerts and cultural events you refer to, while intended to be inclusive, tend to, in fact, be exclusive. Young men, individually or in groups, are banned from entering, and so are teenagers and children. I can't tell you the number of times I have acted as a conduit to convince the security people to let them in and attend. I have also pretended that groups of children are my own kids, so they can be allowed in. Even older men in groups, or people who don't look the part, are often banned from entering.

4. I made a couple of points with regards to the Jabal Qalaa community being excluded and I would like to add a point here. Over the past year, we have managed to secure tickets for people from Jabal Qalaa to attend the Stand Up Comedy Festival, Petra Rocks, Dowzan wa Awtar, New Think Theater and other events, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Sometimes, even affordable events may seem daunting to people who may not have much experience in attending cultural events. The point being that if events are exclusive by design, the majority of people will not be encouraged to explore and discover new interests and horizons.
Guest2

Why would all the support go to one organization called “Jordan Festival”??? why not empower others rather than letting them pay taxes right left & center and sometimes cancelling their events for silly reasons!!! Also, why doesn't the festival include some acts that Raghda mentioned (Petra Rocks for example)?!

Amman is nominated to be the WORLD CITY OF CULTURE in 2016, why didn't this festival go in the name of Amman rather than Jordan!!! it would have made more sense in all means!
MH

My two cents:

I agree that the name choice for this Festival is very poor. If you're going to call it a 'Jordan' Festival, then as Raghda mentioned above, it should encompass more than one location, heck even more than one city. Acts should be a wide variety of international and local performances that can cater to people from all income levels. That in my opinion, is what a Jordan Festival should be like.

Having said that, given that this Festival is being organized by a very newly formed NGO..I get the impression, given the fact that this NGO was formed only a few months ago and that promotion for this Festival only started in the last couple weeks or so, that planning the Festival was very hasty and maybe not as organized as it should be since an event of this proportion needs to be planned at least a year or two in advance. How do you expect them to be able to pull off a multi-city, multi-location festival if that's the case?

Also I think we should give them some credit for being able to secure performances from well-known artists and from a wide range of musical backgrounds: jazz, tarab, opera, classical, Could they have done better to incorporate more local acts? yes. Given this is the first year Friends of Jordan Festivals actually are in charge of this, they can take all this feedback and use it as a learning experience.

But I think if you see this festival within the context that it was planned, not as it 'should be'. (i.e an all-encompassing Jordanian festival) If you imagine it with a different name – say “Citadel Festival” or something, then it seems like a modest, classy effort by an NGO to bring some musical culture to Amman. (yes i know, i know…but humour me for a minute) And good for them for stepping in to take over the government's disastrous effort of last year.

now speaking of elitist or not….I can only say this: if you expect to see really high calibre internationally known artists performing then you should NOT expect to pay only like 10 JDs to see them. I acknowledge that the majority of Jordanians cannot afford it – which is why I mentioned before that the festival planners definitely should have taken that into account – but for those who can afford it, it is a lovely opportunity to be able to experience musical acts that don't usually ever come to Jordan. And I am not going to be mad or upset about that.
Saed

I'm not sure I understand your point.
Saed

“third…omar abdallat is not participating….nuff said.”

How did I miss that! I agree with you! He should be the opening act if anything.
mohammad

thanks good post
http://twitter.com/Naser_k Naser K

we gave this festival a chance, I officially and on record give up on it. sho had! where's the theater and poetry? where's the local band? except for Shu Hal Eyyam -who are friends and beloved ones-, but still its not enough!!
Jerash festival music theme bteswa kol el advertising done for this one.
raghdabutros

MH,

I think your comments are very valid and I do agree that bringing world-class artists to Amman is a good thing. I have no doubt that the event will be well organized and enjoyable, and I am all for more cultural events of all kinds and to suit all tastes in Jordan.

The issue here is that this event came as a successor to the Jerash Festival which had wide popular local and regional appeal. The other issue for me, is that while Jabal Qalaa is home to an archaeological site, it is also home to over 6000 people, for whom absolutely no concern was given when planning this two-month long event.

More importantly, and on normal days when no events are taking place at the site, the people of Qalaa and Ammanis in general, are not allowed to use the space to picnic or hang out or fly kites, on the pretext that they will negatively affect the archaeological site. This does not gel with the fact that for two-months, people will be using the space to hold concerts which involve loud music, structures to hold the audience and other activities which could also harm the site. Not to mention the use of the site for wedding and private parties throughout the year.

If the fear of archaeological damage is not the real reason why regular Jordanians are not allowed free access to the site, then it should be made clear that this has now become an exclusive area for events that only the wealthy can afford and from which the local community and Ammanis as a whole are excluded. Then we have a point of departure from which to approach our reaction to this fact.

I have asked the committee in charge of the Festival to add their voices to those of the community in requesting that the site be made accesible to everyone, when not in use for an event, and to make a contribution towards a community project in Jabal Qalaa from the proceeds of the festival. They are unable to make the contribution, and I am still waiting to see if they will support the people of Qalaa in their bid to freely access the space. I hope something positive wil come of it.
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Maha

This festival has no soul, is not Jordanian and is not open to the general public. Jerash used to bring in people from all over the country, out of the capital. It was a world class festival that made us proud. It all went downhill when they stole it from Nour Al Hussein's Foundation. Such a shame that a lot of good projects in this country are ruined by “hidden agendas”
Suad Nofal

مهرجان ليس لنااااااااااااااااااااااااااااا..

مهرجان الأردن ليس للأردنيين!
يجب ويجب عليهم تغيير التسمية
Suad Nofal

مهرجان ليس لنااااااااااااااااااااااااااااا..

مهرجان الأردن ليس للأردنيين!
يجب ويجب عليهم تغيير التسمية
Alaeddin_a

تصور مثلا ان حفيد بيييركاردان قرر تغيير اسم الماركة لان زوجته الجديدة ترغب بذلك على اساس “وضع بصمة لها” . الموضوع مضحك بقدر ما هو مبكي. المشكلة ان مهرجان جرش راسمال وطني هائل, تصور الجهود والمواهب والاموال والسنوات . ما حدث جريمة ارتكبها البعض وعدم التصريح بذلك ودب الصوت جريمة اخرى نرتكبها جميعا
د. وصفي محمد عبده

صباح الخير

يبدو أن هناك أناس لا يرغبون في انجاح أي شيء في الأردن ولو كنت المسئول لعملت تحقيقا حول تدمير مهرجان جرش – إن تولي الحكومة ووزارة السياحة لتنظيم المهرجانات للأسف قد قضى عليها بسبب الواسطات وسوء معرفة وقلة خبرة العاملين في و المهرجانات في وزارة السياحة
أنا لا أعرف من الذي دمر مهرجان جرش بترخيص مهرجانات أخرى في نفس الموعد – إن المهرجانات ليس عملية فهلوة
إن الوضع أكثر من مرزي الآن بالنسبة للمهرجانات – فقدنا كل السياح على الأطلاق بسبب سوء التخطيط والتنظيم والموظفين الذين يأتون الى الوزراة فقط ليأخذوا رواتبهم – عملية ملء إعلانات وتوزيعها ثم الأدعاء بأن لدينا مهرجانا
عامر الحمود

لازم يغيروه
لا مهرجان جرش ولا مهرجان الأردن
لازم يسموه مهرجان الياسين
او مهرجان رانيا الطرابلسي