Zawyeh Gallery is currently holding Posters for Gaza, a group exhibition featuring 26 Arab and Palestinian creatives. On display are the posters they created specifically for the show that draw attention to the urgent issues facing the Gaza Strip and advocating for the recognition of Palestinian rights. You will be able to attend the exhibition until the 21st of April, 2024.
A potent form of expression, the political poster genre is a long tradition in Palestinian activism, with roots dating back to roughly 1900. Popularised between the mid-1960s and late 1980s, political posters became instrumental in rallying support for the Palestinian cause and championing values of freedom, dignity, and resilience. They were produced extensively by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), established in 1964, drawing contributions from artists from Palestine, the Arab world, and beyond.
Uniform-sized and designed in a simplified manner, the posters featured in the exhibition reflect their creators’ uniqueness in terms of style, materials, and the underlying narratives. To create their works, the participating artists turned to different traditional mediums such as acrylics, inks, charcoal, collage, and mixed media on paper, while some utilised diverse digital design techniques.
Although the subjects addressed in the displayed posters vary, they all share a common plea for humanity to prevail. For example, the theme of human rights violations in Gaza is central in the posters by Iraqi-born artist Hosni Radwan (All Rights Not Reserved, 2023), Bethlehem-based artist Yazan Abu Salameh (All Rights Reserved, 2023), and Israeli artist Asad Azi (Ekhtilal, 2024). In his work Sleepless (2024), Gazan artist Mohammed Joha expresses his anxieties about his family’s well-being in the region, while Ramallah-based artist Bashar Alhroub, Palestinian artist Wadei Khaled, and Iraqi artist Reda Alyasari focus on themes of family and motherhood in their posters on view.
To get more information about Posters for Gaza, please visit the official web page of the exhibition.
Additionally, you might want to consider attending In the eyes of our present, we hear Palestine at Sharjah Art Foundation.
