Precarity, Public Art and Solidarity in Palestine and Lebanon Exhibit at the Jerusalem Fund

posted on: Mar 1, 2013

The Jerusalem Fund Gallery invites you to the opening of Undefeated Despair -John Berger, 2006
Precarity, Public Art and Solidarity in Palestine and Lebanon

Break the Silence Media and Art Project
Opening Reception with photos and media

Friday, 8 March, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Exhibition Dates: 8 March – 12 April 2013

2425 Virginia Ave NW | Washington, DC 20037 | 202-338-1958 | Metro: Foggy Bottom
Gallery Hours: M-F 9am-5pm, or by appointment

The exhibition will include:

A Tale of Two Cities, The Olympia-Rafa Solidarity Mural Project (ORSMP), located in Olympia, WA, is co-produced with the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace and Justice. The project was inspired by the life of Rachel Corrie, who was killed in Rafah in the Gaza Strip while defending the home of a Palestinian doctor from demolition. The mural is located in Olympia, WA, where Corrie was born and raised. ORSMP is four thousand square feet of interdisciplinary international solidarity. More than 150 groups and individuals worldwide contributed images to make visible connections between seemingly distant issues and locations. Innovative use of technology, including ‘Call the Wall,’ allows viewers to hear audio tracks associated with all the images in the murals, thereby deepening the viewing experience.

The Maia Mural Brigade, Gaza (Maia means water in Arabic) took place in cities, towns and refugee camps throughout Gaza. It brought together activists, trauma therapists, muralists, filmmakers, Estria Foundation’s Water Writes Project, Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project, Afaq Jadeeda (New Horizons), Palestinian youth artists, and activists to create collaborative murals that deal with the universal right to clean water. The murals are located at water filtration systems in Gaza being installed by the Middle East Children’s Alliance, that have been providing clean drinking water to more than 30,000 children.

Mourning & Action- Sabra-Shatila Commemorative Mural Project In conjunction with Beirut’s Al-Jana Resource Center and Ahlam Laje’a Center, the murals commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the 1982 massacres in Sabra and Shatila Refugee Camp. An international team of painters and youth from Shatila Refugee Camp, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Egypt, USA, Mexico, Guatemala and refugee camps in Lebanon painted 2000 square feet in Mosque Square in Shatila Camp exploring themes of resilience, creativity and memory. Included is a memorial to Rachel Corrie, an American activist whose civil suit absolving Israel of all accountability for her killing was decided by Israeli high court in August 2012.