International Forum on Artistic Research
17th Conference of the Society for Artistic Research (SAR)
Submission Number: 33
Submission ID: 65
Submission UUID: a2ddc660-84bc-43be-a941-16fabaab3082

Created: Thu, 29 Jan 2026 - 05:56
Completed: Thu, 29 Jan 2026 - 17:21
Changed: Wed, 13 May 2026 - 08:12

Remote IP address: 141.226.88.41
Submitted by: Thalia Hoffman
Language: English

Is draft: No
Current page: webform_confirmation
Given name Thalia
Surname Hoffman
Email thalia.hoffman@gmail.com
I understand that by submitting this form, I consent to the use of my data for the purposes of the 2026 Forum on Artistic Research'. Yes
I agree to the terms of service. Yes
Title Absent/protective Presence
Format Performance
Main language English
Abstract My proposal for the forum is informed from a performance I have been working on during the past months. The performance is a collaboration between Murad Hassan, Itamar Shapira and myself. It explores the possibilities of direct activism, especially in the West Bank, specifically in the severe times of violence we are part of. The performance Absent/protective Presence brings together the Palestinian actor Murad Hassan, who lives and works in Israel, with the experience of Protective Presence. Through an encounter with Itamar Shapira, a long-time activist and researcher of direct action in the South Hebron Hills, Murad performs simulations and dialogues drawn from testimonies of activists in the area.
Protective Presence operates in the areas of the Jordan Valley and South Hebron Hills, struggling together with Palestinians for grazing and agricultural lands, against home demolitions, and for the possibility of living in the face of institutional and independent forces acting against them.
Protective Presence is an activist practice, carried out mainly by Jewish and international activists, who stand alongside Palestinians in their struggle and amplify their visibility and actions.
This proposal will study from the performative experience, in theoretical and practical methodologies, how mutual learning and ideological cross pollination can embody the unveiling and darkening of both visible and invisible privileges that exist in the local space here, between the sea and the river.
Image presence small.jpg
Short biographies of the presenter(s)
  • Thalia Hoffman is a visual artist and researcher working in film, video, performance, and public interventions in the area where she lives, east of the Mediterranean. Alongside her artistic actions, Hoffman holds a PhD in artistic research from Leiden University and is a lecturer at the University of Haifa in video, performance and artistic research. She is currently the head of the MFA program
    for art at the university. Her work strives to be involved in its surroundings and engages people to look, listen and feel their socio-political landscape with attention.
  • Murad Hassan
    Studied theater and acting at the University of Haifa. Was an actor in the El Meydan Theater Ensemble until its closure. Instructor of acting workshops in Israel and abroad (Germany, Ghana, Ethiopia). Participated in the plays "Parallel Time", "Shame - Talkbacks on Theater", "Hedge", "Endless Grief", "Waking Up Lions", "The Yellow Time", "Waiting for Godot", "Dresses", "Interior Parts", "The Fence", "Row" and more.
  • Itamar Shapira
    Co-founder of Peace Fighters and periodical manager of the organization, a tour-guide of political-social-historical tours, established the Israeli-Palestinian tourism company Green-Olive-Tours, flamenco guitar player in the US and Israel, studied anthropology in the field of Israelis' solidarity activism with the Palestinian struggle for liberation, an activist in the solidarity presence at Masafer Yatta
Previous presentations or iterations of the research The performance took part at a performance festival at Tmuna Theater in Tel Aviv and was presented at a research group at the Haifa University.
Additional information It is possible to do the performance and in addition to hold a talk/presentation of our working process and research.
Spatial and technical requirements Tv or screen
neck mics for 2 performers
Potential risks or ethical concerns
Create a user account for SAR 2026 Yes
Create new user Thalia Hoffman