Hello friends,
Hope your spirits are high and the fire in you is burning brightly. Below are some of the ideas that emerged from last week. Let me know if you’re interested in getting involved.
Event: January 12 at Funoon in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
We’re scheduled for a performance on Jan 12 at Funoon in Brooklyn. The theme will be Hanzala (details below). We’re looking for help with production + video projections + logistics + documentation + fundraising + promotion help. We’ll have 3 rehearsals (the weekend before the show + a weekday during week of show + day of show at venue).
Let me know if you’re available. We’re just checking for your ability to join us for now. We will confirm the final team for this event by the end of next week.
Project: Hanzala
Naji al-Ali is a Palestinian Cartoonist who grew up in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in the south Lebanese city of Sidon, where his gift for drawing was discovered by the Palestinian poet Ghassan Kanafani in the late 1950s. Al-Ali is best known as the creator of the character Handala, a personification of the Palestinian people that has become a prominent symbol of Palestinian nationalism and resistance. Naji was assassinated in 1987.
Attached is a book that assembled his cartoon. The show will be divided into 5 chapters, like in the book, exploring a selection of his cartoons and songs that speak to them.
The 5 chapters are:
- Palestine
- Human Rights
- US Dominance, Oil and Arab Collusion
- The Peace Process, and
- Resistance.
I’d be happy to hear your thoughts, and invite you to a zoom call next week Thu Dec 5, 7pm EST to discuss next steps.
Best,
Hadi
Naji Al-Ali – A Child in Palestine_ The Cartoons of Naji al-Ali-Verso Books (2009).pdf
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