Having worked in Ni’lin, Qalqiliya and Jericho, the Culture, Arts and Community Participation project has added Anabta, Qatanna and Khan Yunis to its map of operations in Palestine. This was initiated by a meeting, which brought together a group of male and female teachers and university students from Anabta and Qatanna on Saturday, 21 October 2017.
The Educational Research and Development Programme (ERDP) of the A. M. Qattan Foundation (AMQF) held the meeting with a view to introducing the Culture, Arts and Community Participation project to the new participants. Malik Al-Remawi, Manager of the ERDP Languages and Humanities Track, presented the idea and most recent productions of the project, including art exhibitions, films and plays. The AMQF implements the project with co-funding from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Al-Remawi explained that the selection of Anabta east of Tulkarem, Qatanna northwest of Jerusalem and Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip was informed by general criteria, including a focus on areas most in need of support and priority social issues. These provide a context to develop the project in previous locations by creating an inspiring experience, which links the project geographically, intellectually and productively. The selection process was based on a research on villages near Jerusalem in particular. Qatanna was selected because it represented Jerusalemite villages in a very complicated manner.
Wasim Al-Kurdi, ERDP Director, curated a workshop, in which participants produced artistic expressions of their most prominent interests in their own communities. The workshop was initiated with every participant selecting one object they could not abandon and that was associated with the place they belong to. In this context, a teacher painted the kindergarten, where she worked for 30 years. Another painted her diaries when she was a university student. A teacher chose to paint his village’s olive press, to which he was attached when he was a child.
The value of life lies in the small details. Participants discussed this theme while they recalled the objects that were significant for them, such as a wristwatch a student had from his grandfather who put it on for 30 years and the first pen a teacher had as a present from his students.
Al-Kurdi made clear that people express ideas in multiple ways. However, these are limited to three representations: action, icon and symbol, including motion, speech, pictures, paintings, etc. Accordingly, Al-Kurdi presented a collection of pictures and paintings produced by world artists, who addressed themes like education, slavery and political speeches simply, clearly and in a highly artistic style.
Having introduced them to the general concepts of expression, Al-Kurdi asked both teams of participants to draw an aerial image of Qatanna and another of Anabta on canvas. Then, every participant selected a personality, the story of which they were aware of, in their own area to represent it in one sentence. This way, all participants would have formed a more integrated picture about their area.
“This is a man who can no longer cultivate his land because it was confiscated by the occupying authorities.” “This is his home behind the Wall.” “This is a working woman. She does not have time to finish all tasks inside and outside home.” The impact of the Wall on agriculture dominated the Qatanna team’s conversation. It was also noticed that most of the personalities chosen by the participants were males.
All 35 participants discussed themes that were inadequately addressed, such as education, infrastructure, women’s participation in political life and narcotic drugs.
By contrast, the Anabta team members talked about their vision of, and role in, their community. They addressed the general tendency to adapt to, rather than devise substantial solutions for, the problems their town faces. Responsible authorities do not perform their duties, undermining the entrepreneurial spirit among community members.
The meeting was concluded by a group discussion, in which participants suggested initial practical steps to work in their local communities. They made clear the reasons they joined the project, such as their desire for promoting community participation, restoring the concept of volunteering, and acquiring individual experiences which they would use in line with their roles in serving their communities.