Weapon In Color 50 Artists Participate In An Art Exhibition To Support The Palestinian Resistance

The artist resists with his brush and colors, and the writer resists with paper and pen, words uttered by the young artist Muhannad Al-Says as he stood contemplating a painting at the international art exhibition “International Day of Resistance for Plastic Arts” in Gaza.

Gaza –

“Resistance is not always with weapons and fire, the artist resists with his brush and colors, and the writer resists with paper and pen,” words said by the young artist Muhannad Al-Says as he stood contemplating a painting in the international art exhibition “International Resistance Day for Plastic Arts”, hosted by Gaza City, organized by the “Foundation Rawasy Palestine for Culture, Arts and Media.

And 50 male and female artists from 10 Arab, Islamic and foreign countries participated in the exhibition, with paintings that dealt with various aspects of Palestinian life and the march of the national struggle. It was remarkable to focus on issues related to occupied Jerusalem, the right of return, the liberation of prisoners, and support for the resistance against the Israeli occupation.

Resistance has many faces

Al-Sais (21 years old) told Al-Jazeera Net, and he had long been standing in front of paintings by Jordanian artists Raed Al-Qatani and Muhammad Al-Qaddumi, that “arts are a universal language and leave a deep impact on convictions and ideas,” and he pointed with his hand to these paintings, and proceeded, “With such works we can talk a change in world public opinion, and we raise the level of support for our rights and our just cause.”

The work of the two artists, Al-Qatani and Al-Qaddoumi, was dominated by the association between the woman and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which the politician interprets as a depiction of the Palestinian people in their adherence to their rights and their fight for their sanctities and protection, with a mother who embraces her child and is ready to fight and sacrifice herself for him.

Some of the artworks participating in the exhibition (Al-Jazeera)

Al-Sais, a university student studying art education, is keen to attend such exhibitions in order to gain knowledge, learn about different artistic cultures, and get closer to the way Arab and foreign artists think and how they view Palestine?

How do they deal with its various issues?

Al-Says said, referring to a painting by the Lebanese artist Ahmed Abdullah that showed an old Palestinian man wearing a keffiyeh and traditional dress and holding his grandson’s hand as they overlooked the Dome of the Rock. This was also expressed by the Russian artist Vera Filipova in a painting of a Palestinian knight with a keffiyeh and riding a horse as he entered the gates of Jerusalem waving the Palestinian flag.

A painting by the Iraqi artist Sabah Alwan supports the right of Palestinian prisoners to freedom (Al-Jazeera)

resistance carnival

In a speech via video, the Iraqi plastic artist, Neamat Al-Zayer, blessed what he described as the “carnival of resistance”, and expressed his support for the artists participating in the exhibition for the resistance of the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights.

Addressing a crowd of artists and leaders of Palestinian forces at the opening of the exhibition, Al-Zayer said, “The day will come when we will be among you displaying our paintings in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the occupation will be over… Victory is your ally, and victory is only from God.”

He added, “You are not alone, our hearts are always with you, and the Palestinian cause is the cause of the Arabs and the honorable people around the world.”

On the sidelines of the exhibition, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), saw in the participation of this large number of Arab, Muslim and foreign artists a message of support and backing for the Palestinian resistance.

Al-Zahar stressed the importance of painting and the arts in enhancing the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and expressing their issues and rights.

Artworks demonstrating the presence of the Palestinian cause in the conscience of Arab peoples (Al-Jazeera)

Lead Powered Colors

The Executive Director of “Rawasi” Muhammad Al-Hasani – to Al-Jazeera Net – said that choosing the resistance as a slogan for an art exhibition suggests the importance of the arts as a struggle front that supports Palestinian rights alongside the resistance in all its forms.

According to Al-Hasani, the artworks embodied the suffering of the Palestinian people for decades under the yoke of occupation, and he said, “It is an attempt to consolidate the presence of plastic arts in the resistance project as an important tool committed to the issues of the nation, with Palestine as a top priority.”

50 artists, including Russians, participated in the exhibition in support of the resistance (Al-Jazeera)

Al-Hasani considers the participation of “elite artists of the world” with their paintings in an art exhibition in Gaza, as demonstrating the presence of the Palestinian cause in the conscience of Arab and Islamic peoples, and free people everywhere.

In addition to local artists from Palestine, artists from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria, Iran and Russia participated in the exhibition, which lasted for two days, amid a remarkable presence.