Art under Apartheid
Israel’s suppression of Palestinian culture and cultural production takes many forms, including the imprisonment of artists, destruction of cultural centers, denial of entry for Palestinian artists living in the diaspora, banning of events, the erasure of Palestinian cultural history, and the criminalization of commemoration of the Nakba. We aim to shine a light on this suppression and to bring the work of Palestinian artists to NYC audiences.
Susan Abulhawa, Aja Monet, Radhika Sainath, and Sarah Schulman discuss the conditions under which Palestinian artists labor, the Palestinian call for the cultural boycott of Israel, and efforts to criminalize BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) in the United States.
Aja Monet, Susan Abulhawa, Remi Kanazi, Sarah Schulman, and other cultural workers feature in this video produced within an international campaign demanding freedom for Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour.
“The poem at the center of the indictment speaks about the killing of innocent Palestinians by settlers and by occupation soldiers. Once again Israel not only kills Palestinians, but at the same time won’t even let Palestinians speak of their experience of victimhood.”
“Allow me to speak my Arab tongue before they occupy my language as well.”
Palestinian poet Rafeef Ziadah celebrated the release of her second album, We Teach Life, on an international tour in collaboration with musician Phil Monsour. (Shown here at Nuyorican Poets Cafe, NYC.)