Art, Heart and Progress - Art Activism
Art, Heart and Progress — The Artists
In a shared world, I, like many, believe that it is a legitimate act, to raise issue when things are glaringly unfair and the institutions we have created to respond in arbitration are not responding adequately, to end the state of unfairness. I appreciate that this is not an easy task. In that spirit, this blog seeks to highlight the art and protest by and for Palestinians.
I have tried to include a wide range of artists from different perspectives, from across the world. I myself am learning about this conflict and the artists as I build this collection, this is currently a living page, being updated as you read, expect edit notes.
This is not an endorsement of the political views of any of the artists; mainly because I do not have the right to comment on how Palestinians should see their future.
When Politicians Fail
Artists of all genres have decided to nudge the world towards progress
The failure of politicians and illusory peace talks are evidenced by concrete walls and continuing blockades. However all is not lost, as among other efforts, an explosion of political art — charts a more grass roots effort, to end the stalemate. From performance art to street art. “Art, Heart and Progress,” collates, some of the artistic efforts, that have created a formidable civil society, concerned with the intransigence of politician in the face of very real suffering.
Originally a single blog post, I have split this into three, sometimes the contents overlap:
- Art, heart and Progress — The Artists
- Art, Heart and Progress — Art Activism
- Art, Heart and Progress — Photography
The order of the sections is changing and likely to remain chaotic, jumping backwards and forwards in time and to and fro from Palestinians to International Artists and Events. This is not helped by that fact that there are hundreds, if not thousands of sites to choose from, all exploring art from a different perspective. I am at the moment keeping away from the most controversial images, however I am disappointing myself in doing so.
The sections at the moment are:
- A Message
- Bethlehem Unwrapped
- Street Art
- Political Cartoons
- Bibliography
- Archive
A New Way?
Are we responsible for making sure that non-violent political engagement is effective and succeeds? What happens when we block it?
The Apartheid Wall
A great part of the art activism centres around the separation barrier between Palestinians and Israelis , the following video by an activist group gives a good introduction. In terms of art activism, it has been both the subject and the canvas for dissent.
It also is a convenient outdoor gallery for street artists; and may yet create a tourist trade, to visit, in it’s own right.
Following is a short video by Dena Takruri a journalist and long term campaigner against the wall, she brings home some of the day to day impact the wall has on the lives of people living in its proximity
Bethlehem Unwrapped — The Wall Comes Down (2014)
As part of the Bethlehem Unwrapped (http://bethlehem-unwrapped.org/) festival, film-maker Tom Pursey was commissioned to record all aspects of the event: from the construction (and subsequent public impact ) of the 8m high life size replica WALL that was built in front of St James’s Piccadilly, through to the live events that spanned the two week festival.
photos & videos http://wp.me/p2NEVF-x1 For more information, visit: https://www.patreon.com/tippingpointn...
Theatre
Hannah Khalil
“A picnic interrupted by soldiers. Never-ending queues. Sunbathing in the shadow of a tank. How do people manage when every day is the same?
Scenes from 68* Years is an epic snapshot of life in Palestine, then and now. Palestinian-Irish playwright Hannah Khalil draws on stories from family and friends’ lives to paint this alternative picture — one rarely glimpsed in mainstream media and told with typical Palestinian black humour.
A cast of six actors in the UK — and one in Palestine — will take you on a whistle-stop tour through space and time, from 1948 to the present day.
Forget suicide belts and crying mothers — here the real human story is revealed: the dreams, comedy, sadness and frustrations of daily life in the shadow of the ’separation wall’.” - Blurb extract from the arcola theatre web site
http://www.arcolatheatre.com/event/scenes-from-68-years/2016-04-06/
http://www.hannahkhalil.com/
The Wall as Canvas
How and Nosm
How&Nosm recent trip to add their art to the Apartheid Wall, more about their trip here: Vandalog — The street artist’s blog
Designed by Sliman Mansour
“The iconic image from the Sistine Chapel of God giving life to Adam through a fingertip touch was adapted by Mansour…What we notice first in Mansour’s graffiti is the overly extended gap between the finger of God and his creation, which emphasizes separation — a separation that stalls a creation or even prevents the flow of life, Unlike the surface and structure that support the original, we actually want this wall to crumble” — Extract from “The Origins of Palestinian Art” by Bashir Makhoul and Gordon Hon (Liverpool University Press, 2013, P209)
Trash
Palestinian Street Artist, whose tag name is Trash, captures the determination to overcome the barriers of art, life and occupation
Artist Unknown
Artist Unknown
Santa’s Ghetto — Bethlehem
In 2007, Santa’s Ghetto,[9] a London based art collective which organizes annual happenings of painting performances and print trade fairs, organised a festival that took place in the West Bank. Together with many other international artists — among them, Blu[11] , Banksy, Mark Jenkins, Sam3,[10] Ron English, Ericailcane, Swoon, and Faile —
For More Information on Santa’s Ghetto: Click Here
Blu
“Blu[11] has painted on the wall around Bethlehem that separates the West Bank from Israel. On a watchtower of the very symbol of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Blu[12] painted a figure who naively tries to tear down this open-air prison with his finger” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu_%28artist%29
Banksy
Other Wall Murals
Artist Unknown
Photograph from “Palestinian Women”, Photo journalism study by Eva Bartlett
Twenty-five-year-old Palestinian refugee Laila uses street art to empower young women in a Palestinian Refugee camp in Jordan. Note that there is an advertisement from wix.com, prior to showing the video. Wix suspended the site of Palestinians during the bombings of Gaza.
Hemba Basha — Gaza
Cartoonist, Carlos Latuff recently tweeted that Hema Basha from Gaza was reproducing one of his cartoons as a Mural
Joel Bergner
“Brooklyn-Based Artist and Arts Educator Joel Bergner aka Joel Artista on His Recent Project with Israeli and Palestinian Youth” — Blurb from StreetartNYC.org Found from the facebook page of Artists for Palestine — Netherlands
Political Cartoon
Carlos Latuff
A regular voice for Palestinians comes from the cartoonist Carlos Latuff
References
Books
2013, Bashir Makhoul and Gordon Hon, “The Origins of Palestinian Art”, Published by Liverpool University Press, 2013
2009, Boullata, Kamal, “Palestinian Art”, Published by SAQI
2010, Parry, William, “Against the Wall”, Published by Pluto Press
Websites
There are hundreds of sites about Palestinian art in many different languages, here are a few, chosen randomly, rather then with any purpose
Artists for Palestine — Netherlands
Resistance Art
Palestinian Artists in Gaza — Eva Bartlett Blog
Palestinian Arts Festival
Palestine Film Festival — Amsterdam
Palestine Film Foundation
Palestine Studies — Art Square Section
Palestine Culture
Paintings for Palestine
Disarming Design Art Centre
Campaign Sites
Make Apartheid History
Palestinians Artists
Iyad Sabbah in Middle East Revised
International Artists
Jane Frere: Return of the Soul
Carlos Latuff — Political Satirist
Further Reading on Palestinian Artists
Basel and Ruanne in Blouart
Basel and Ruanne in Ibraaz
Raeda Saadeh in Art Fund
The Art is bound with activism and political debate. So following are some of the big debates.
The Non-Violent Movement
As an external observer, still learning my summary below:
The largest bulk of Palestinian civil society is engaged in Non-Violent political struggle, however it seems that younger people especially are frustrated with the lack of movement and the continuing growth of the settlements.
As far as I can tell, there is a campaign coming from Israel and internationally which currently calls itself “Coexist”, which sets itself in opposition, to that coming from Palestinian Civil Society called, “BDS” or “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions”. Coexist has the bigger names and big money behind it, it oozes slick. However it has so little support among Palestinians; probably hampered by its own nature. My initial view of Coexist is, it does not respond to occupation facts, therefore, it becomes a campaign for benevolent inequality.
It is a shame, because a genuine movement that worked for longer term peace, and reconciliation (Genuine, measured in Palestinian empowerment) and was backed and supported by Palestinian civil society would probably be well received, however as yet it seems to be unnamed.
This debate took centre stage in a series of letters between J.K. Rowling the author and a young Palestinian, Mia Oudeh.
BDS: Interview with BDS Dr Haider Eid
Coexist: Coexist Website
Culture for Coexistence: UK Campaign
The Public Debate in Letters
Letter by BDS in the Guardian
Letter by Coexist in the Guardian
Mia Oudeh to JK Rowling in the Herald Scotland
JK Rowling to Mia Oudeh in the Herald Scotland
The places and locations
Ramallah
Seasons Greetings Dec 2015
Banksy’s Christmas Card (2005) …Um 2015!?
Banksy’s Christmas Card, trending on social media, has become a tradition in itself, being shared every Christmas since 2005. A whole stream of trolls, posts, and comments accompany it, arguing over its authenticity to the year of its first publication, one thing for sure, it was created after the twenty foot wall with watch towers was put in place.
Christmas in Bethlehem
Following is a selection of some of the other,
Mary and Joseph at The Wall, Christmas cards that have begun to appear.
Previous Posts
On Choice
- Good Robots
- Can we have a better choice then “Shoot to Kill”, please?
- Inventors, Engineers, Innovators — Where are you?
On Truth
- Understanding Data in War and Peace
- News Neutrality and News Integrity — societies need for impartial and truthful information.
