We are building a future that our children and youth will inherit.
As we tear down the colonial systems that harm us, we are cultivating freedom-loving societies that uplift our young people, and protect their most fundamental rights. We continue to fight for their liberation from all forms of violence, displacement, and incarceration. We defend their access to education, healthcare, freedom of mobility, safe home spaces, and life-sustaining resources. Our feminist practice encourages and fosters creativity, joy, innovation, political curiosity, intellectual inquiry, and dissent. We recognize and support the transformative power that children and youth hold as anchors of Palestine’s decolonial future.
by Laila Shawa
Laila Shawa – whose recent passing, in October 2022, we mourn and whose life we celebrate – was known for her use of bold colors and illustrative designs to tackle structural violence, political turmoil, the plight of children and resistance. Shawa used paints, photography, and silkscreen in her art, which includes whimsical paintings exemplifying the beauty and harshness of life for Palestinians.
About her upbringing in a place where many diverse cultures live in close proximity to each other, Laila said: “Speaking other languages helps one understand how complex problems give rise to multiple explanations that can often be mutually exclusive. Using the artist’s privileged vantage point, I try to consider all sides of any question. My multi-layered approach is designed to highlight and explore the dichotomies, ironies, and hypocrisies to which many seem less well attuned.”
Handala and the Poppy (2018), which reanimates Naji-al Ali’s iconic figure of Handala, is an acrylic and gold leaf on canvas work, provided courtesy of the artists and October Gallery, London.
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