A Day of Solidarity with Palestine
Kunsthal Gent opens its doors for a day-long programme. On the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, together with Tashattot collective, Kunstwerkt, Disarming Design from Palestine and rokko, we are organising a diverse range of multidisciplinary performances. Be welcome and get to know the diverse and rich work of Palestinian artists.
- 13:45 — Cinema
Doors open - Ongoing — 't Oud Huis & Bar
The Ghent queer feminist book initiative rokko offers a collection of books by Palestinian authors and about Palestine. A growing library that you can consult freely throughout the day. Be welcome to read together and talk about what is going on in Palestine. This way we can further inform ourselves, find softness in the grief we feel or further fuel our fighting spirit. - 14:00 (15') — Cinema
Messages from Joud — Heartbreaking and resilient messages by Joud, our recent intern from Ramallah, on and by people close to her. Joud Abu Al Humus is a design and business student from Ramallah, who did an internship in Kunsthal Gent between August and October this year and tried to return home at the end of October. - 14:15 (1h) — Cinema
BDS: Where To bBegin? — A brief introduction to the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement with Sulaiman Saleh from Disarming Design from Palestine and Jules Bakker from the Solidarity Network UGent.
- 15:30 (1h30') — Cinema
Disarming Design from Palestine — Annelys Devet and Sulaiman Saleh introduce Disarming Design from Palestine, an independent non-profit design label promoting thought-provoking and disarming designs from Palestine. Fida Shafi (political scientist and artist) will join us live from Palestine via zoom. She will talk about solidarity with Gaza through artists in Nablus. - 16:00 (ongoing) — Bar
Food from vegetarian food and tea house Lokaal - 17:30 (2h) — 't Oud Huis
Eat and Draw — With the cookbook Where the Olive Tree Grows, Sirien Salameh brings an ode to her mother. In between the fingerlicking family recipes, seeps a story about tradition, loss, olive trees and occupation. With oil pastels and drypoint etching, she sheds personal light on the circumstances in Palestina.
We gather round the table to prepare small dishes from the cookbook and to draw together. With some small assignments, Sirien puts us to work, using Palestinian cuisine as an inspiration for drawing and conversation. If you wish, you can present your drawings afterwards on the wall of Kunsthal.
Practical
— Bring your own drawing material
— No reservations necessary. First come, first eat!
— Language: EN & NL
— In collaboration with Kunstwerkt - 19:45 (1h 35') — Cinema
Film screening — 'NAMRUD' (Troublemaker) a film by Fernando Romero Forsthuber documenting the life of Palestinian musician Jowan Safadi. Language: English and Arabic
“Frustrated by the political, artistic and social development in his society, JOWAN SAFADI – a famous and controversial Palestinian-Israeli musician and single-father of a teenage son decides to again make some trouble in the conflict-ridden region.” - 21:30 (1h) — Syllabus
Musical performance — Ambient soundscapes by SAWT, the alias of Palestinian Brussels-based electronic music producer Kamel Badarneh. Making use of analogue machines and field recordings, SAWT aims to create a sonic range where techno, ambient and experimental music meet in harmony.
- Sirien Salameh
Sirien Salameh (1999), is an illustrator and visual artist. She illustrated her first book ' Where the olive tree grows' during her master's degree 'Storytelling' at Luca School of Arts.
- SAWT
SAWT is the alias of Palestinian Brussels-based electronic music producer Kamel Badarneh. Making use of analogue machines and field recordings, SAWT aims to create a sonic range where techno, ambient and experimental music meet in harmony. - Tashattot Collective
Tashattot is a Brussels-based collective which aims to support and connect artists coming from the SWANA region and residing in Europe. - rokko
Until August 2023, rokko was a radical feminist queer bookstore and café in Gent. In 2024, we hope to continue rokko. At a different location, in a new structure, and with new faces. But with the same goal: trying to bring the margin to the center. In books and in people. - Lokaal
Lokaal is een warme plek waar we koken met plantaardig en lokaal lekkers! Een huiskamerrestaurant waar eenieder welkom is en zich kan baden in fijne smaken, bedwelmende geuren en heerlijke deuntjes van de platenspeler. - Disarming Design from Palestine
Disarming design from Palestine is an independent non-profit project fostering thought-provoking designs from Palestine. They are useful objects, and each one of them carries a unique story. - Annelys Devet
Annelys Devet is a Belgium-based designer, researcher, educator and the co-founder of the thought-provoking design label Disarming Design from Palestine. De Vet currently holds a position as PhD researcher at ARIA (Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts) where she conducts a practice-based study on participative design approaches that engage in social and political struggles.
- Sulaiman Saleh
Sulaiman Saleh is a communicator and researcher with a focus on international and intercultural communication. He was a lecturer at Jonkoping University (Sweden), teaching students in Media and Communication, and Global studies. Born in Gaza, studied in Malaysia, worked in Sweden,and currently based in Belgium, he is an active member of Cinema Maximiliaan and works as a coordinator for the Disarming Design project. - Joud Abu Al Humus
Joud was an intern in Kunsthal Gent (aug-oct 2023). She was an Erasmus exchange student in Tampere, Finland, has been active as a volunteer in refugee camps and in organising debates and events for the Palestinian Annual Model United Nations, gathering international students.
- Jules Bakker
Jules Bakker is part of the Solidarity Network UGent. This new network of professors, researchers and students takes action to pressure the university to adopt the BDS strategy and suspend all cooperation with Israeli universities, companies and government institutions that support and/or benefit from the occupation and apartheid regime.
