Thinker Series: Siham Abu Awwad
‘This Place’ explores the complexity of Israel and the West Bank, as place and metaphor, through the eyes of twelve internationally acclaimed photographers. Their highly individualized works combine to create not a single, monolithic vision, but rather a diverse and fragmented portrait, alive to all the rifts and paradoxes of this important and much contested space.
The project follows in the tradition of such projects as the Mission Héliographique in nineteenth-century France and the Farm Security Administration in the United States, which gathered artists who use photography to ask essential questions about culture, society and the inner lives of individuals. Initiated by photographer Frederic Brenner, the completed project consists of a traveling exhibition, companion publications and a program of live events.
The artists began their residencies in Israel with an exploratory mission, in which they traveled throughout Israel and the West Bank and met with a variety of thinkers. ‘This Place’ initiator Frederic Brenner later filmed interviews with many of these thinkers. Here are some highlights from one of the twelve interviews: Siham Abu Awwad
Siham Abu Awwad grew up in a Palestinian family in a West Bank village. Her mother was a political activist who served time in Israeli prison, along with three of Siham’s brothers. She is now a respected social worker, activist and a member of the Parents Circle-Families Forum, an organization of 600 Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost a family member to the conflict. Through dialogue groups, educational high school programs, public events, media campaigns and more, the organization works to humanize the other side of the conflict, change attitudes and improve each group’s understanding of the other so that a durable peace can become possible.
In the following video, Siham Abu Awwad shares her personal story, from a victim to an activist for peace and change.
Discover more of the project on this-place.org
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