Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August 2009, page 52
Music & Arts
“Gaza Conversations” on Exhibit At the Jerusalem Fund
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“GAZA CONVERSATIONS: Persistence, Resistance, Renewal” is the title of a powerful exhibit on display at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery in Washington, DC until Sept. 4. In response to Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza, three artists got to work and used their talents in three distinct media to show Americans the persistence, resistance, and dignity of Gazans. Curator Dagmar Painter introduced the artists and hosted a discussion at the opening reception on June 5.
Najat El-Khairy replicated Palestinian embroidery designs on porcelain and ceramic tiles. El-Khairy, who is of Palestinian origin, studied art in Cairo, Egypt, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Montreal, Canada. She said of her contributions to the Jerusalem Gallery: “Since the war on Gaza, I have been suffering and living with our people through every cross-stitch that I painted, preparing for this wonderful exhibition...immortalizing the beauty of the Palestinian embroidery on a non-perishable medium is my mission and contribution to our just cause.”
Internationally acclaimed Palestinian-American graphic designer Rajie Cook, whose sculptural assemblages and “Boxes” have been widely exhibited, said he tried to articulate the human rights violations in Gaza, and also the West Bank, under Israeli occupation. His travels with the Task Force for the Middle East, a group sponsored by the Presbyterian Church, USA, inspire him, Cook said, adding, “I felt it was important for me to create public awareness...to sensitize my audiences that peace with justice is a must in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.”
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Helen Zughaib’s paintings—gouache and ink on board—are included in more than 80 public and private collections, including the White House and the Arab American National Museum in Detroit, MI. In 2008 she was appointed U.S. Cultural Envoy to the West Bank, where she worked with 12 Palestinian women artists on a special show. Many of Zughaib’s paintings focus on the strength and resilience of women left behind after violence.
She started her “Weeping Women” series following Israel’s 2006 attack on Lebanon. That series continued after her recent trip to the West Bank. Her “Witness” series and three additional pieces also show the resilience of women and reflect the artist’s determination that people not forget the devastation of Gaza in 2008-09.
For more information, and to watch a video of this event, visit <www.thejerusalemfund.org/ht/d/sp/i/1459/pid/1459. A percentage of the artists’ proceeds will be donated to the UNRWA Sulafa Embroidery Project (<http://www.sunbula.org/etemplate.php?id=28>).
—Delinda C. Hanley
