Husam Abusalem is technically an architect, temporarily based in Stockholm. He has a Bachelor in Architectural Engineering from Birzeit University in Palestine, specialising in urban design. In Malta, he received an MA in Cultural Heritage Management and is currently attending the postgraduate course in Decolonising Architecture at Stockholm’s Royal Institute of Art, which made this print. His primary research is about the concept of heritage, heritagisation, weaponising heritage, abolitionist heritage, refugee heritage … anything ending with heritage.
Alumni
Publication of “The Anti-Atlas of Colonial-Fascist Architecture in 1940 Sicily”
The Anti-Atlas of Colonial-Fascist Architecture in 1940 Sicily presents an artistic research project comprised of a collection of architectural interpretations and photographs, revealing merely a small fraction of the fascist structures scattered across Sicily. While colonial-fascist architecture does not constitute a distinct architectural style, it is represented by specific architectural entities that embody colonial fascist ideologies and propaganda. Therefore, the core objective of this Anti-Atlas is to disrupt the normalized presence of these structures, redirecting attention towards the ideology and propaganda they embody and their contribution to the expansive colonial project. By acknowledging the true nature of these structures and their multifaceted role in colonial history, we begin to understand the intricate historical and social context that defines our surroundings.
Author: Husam Abusalem
Supervision: Alessandro Petti
Photographic Documentation: Luca Capuano
Architectural Visualisation: Husam Abusalem
Graphic Design: Stefan Fuchs
Published by: Decolonizing Architecture Advanced Studies (DAAS) Architecture Art Research Gallery (AARG!)
Printing: TRT (Tallinn Book Printers)
Many thanks to Alice Pontiggia, Davide Fornari, Emilio Distretti, Herman Hjorth Berge, Khalid Dader, Marta Pagliuca Pelacani, Matthieu Cortat, Silvia Susanna, Steffie De Gaetano, Tiril Sofie Erdal, and my family.
The creation of this Anti-Atlas has been made possible with the generous support of the Royal Institute of Art, Stockholm through its research and development grant (KFoU).
PhD candidate at Department of Culture, Religion and Social Studies in the University of South-Eastern Norway, dedicating his doctoral thesis to exploring the concepts of dignity, repair, and care through tales of an exilic body.
