page_title: Syrian cultural caravan
section_title: Objectives
hierarchical_section_title: Syrian cultural caravan / Objectives
caption_attribution_description: English: Caravan's exhibition - Barjac, October 17 2015 - Attended by many children
context_page_description: The Syrian Cultural Caravan is an artistic and cultural movement led by Syrian artists. Started in 2014 as a project called "Freedom for the Syrian People", it took the form of a road trip, taking off from France and continuing across Europe.
  In face of the success met in 2014, the project became a movement entitled the "Syrian Cultural Caravan".
  The project aims at bringing a wide diversity of artists together around a multi-format exhibition mixing paintings, photographs, dance, music, film screenings, as well as debates and the sharing of food.
  The goal of the project is "to promote Syrian civil society and contemporary Syrian art and culture" by debunking the public's expectations. Artists create a platform for debate on which they can offer their own narrative to counterweight the mainstream narrative of the media.
context_section_description: By promoting a better understanding of Syrian art, culture and society, the Cultural Caravan aims to debunk expectations of Syria and to offer an alternative narrative to the mainstream media narrative. The objective is two-fold: political and cultural.
  The Syrian Cultural Caravan has the political aim to re-establish the complexity of the Syrian conflict. It provides the public with another narrative, counterweighting the simplified stories of bombings, attacks and terrorism found in the media. The work of artists is, according to Leila Shahid in La Marseilleise, a universal language to express the Syrian people's suffering. It gives the opportunity for artists of the caravan to contribute in their own way to raise awareness and engage the public, while at the same time reflecting on what kind of change art can bring. They do not wish to offer a blueprint, unidimensional solution to the conflict but rather they open up the space for dialogue by creating a platform of exchange.
  The objective is also cultural. The movement aims to bring a new look on Syria by focusing on its cultural diversity and richness, beyond ubiquitous images of despair. According to Leila Shahid for La Marseilleise, Syria is a great cultural nation, a pluricultural leader of artistic creation. Journalist Alain Laurens commented that the Syrian cultural caravan's involvement makes the public forget during the performance about all the bombings in Aleppo and Damascus and make room for a humane and fraternal communion. It is a way of showing that the Syrian cultural scene and its artists is alive and thriving. Finally, the road trip allows the Cultural Caravan to make art and culture come to the people, therefore going upstream of artistic and cultural centralisation. Most of the time, the exhibition is set up outside, making it accessible to a greater number.
caption: Caravan's exhibition - Barjac, October 17, 2015 - Attended by many children
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