Sivan Gabrielovich is a Melbourne-based Performance Maker. Since coming to Australia from Israel in 1998, Sivan has written, performed, and directed theatre, while completing her Bachelor of Creative Arts and a Graduate Diploma in Animateuring (Cross-Model Performance Making) at the Victorian College of the Arts. Sivan Gabrielovich is engaging with Israeli and Palestinian communities in Melbourne. In her new work, a video installation called “What Do You Think About Me?”, Gabrielovich explores the nature of identity, home and the shared strong sentimental attachment to a land far away. In collaboration with Rand T. Hazou, Gabrielovich brings six people, 3 Israeli, 3 Palestinian together through a series of workshops and interviews. The people involved Sivan Barak, Idan Ben Barak, Yousef Al Reemawi, Keren Rubinstein, Mai Sarraj, and Sary Zananiri. Opening at the Meat Market, Gallery A, on 19 November 2008, “What Do You Think About Me?” is a rare moment of viewing these two groups thoughts and concerns about who they are, and what they think of the other. Motivated by a two-month trip in Israel and Palestine in 2007, Gabrielovich found that there was a large amount of cultural activity and exchange between the Israeli and Palestinian groups. On coming back to Melbourne she noticed a lack of such collaboration even within the stability of Australia. “What Do You Think About Me?” first started with a personal interview with each individual. This was followed by a series of creative and artistic workshops and discussions that involved all six individuals and was facilitated by creative leaders which included writer Arnold Zable who took the writing workshop, Shahin Shafaei took the theatre workshop. Furthermore, there will also be an open forum, where those involved including Arnold Zable, will discuss the process and their thoughts on being involved in the project as well as take questions from the audience. This project has been supported by City of Melbourne Arts Grants Program and the Rothfield Foundation. This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body. Hebrew interview: 9:00 English interview: 5:50