The Arab Cultural Capital for 2009 is Jerusalem. This 10+year UNESCO* program respected the fact that in 2006 Arab cultural ministers voted for Al Quds, which as you can imagine irked the Israeli government who actively objected to it, but UNESCO said it would/could not overturn the decision by these Arab ministers. A couple years went by.
The cultural calender for this occasion was slated to kick off in Jerusalem in January, but due to the Gaza war was postponed for a while. Until now. Festivities are back on the calendar and artists, cultural workers, residents and visitors will engage in a year long program.
And I can't help but wonder....
What if Jerusalemites, Palestinians and the Arab ministers who voted it in took a stand and said, "stop - this is wrong, we want Gaza to be the cultural capital of the year instead of us".
Jerusalem can say, "Gaza is our surrogate choice".
Yes, I know Gaza is not a capital city. However, in light of its recent annihilation, I think of Gaza today as the capital city of Israel's crimes of war against humanity as the world watched.
And what better way to make a statement, create a lot of noise, and rewrite the rules, than for artists and creative industry workers to take a stand towards changing the game.
Imagine.
* According to UNESCO, the Cultural Capitals Program aims "to provide the Arab countries with a framework within which to develop their cultural heritage, preserving the past but placing particular emphasis on the future, opening the Arab world to new influences and technologies while safeguarding the integrity of Arab heritage. It should especially promote contemporary literary, artistic, scientific and intellectual Arab culture."
3/20/2009
Arab cultural capitals, taking a stand, changing the game
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2 comments:
Palestinians don't have it in themselves to do that and Arabs don't understand solidarity. Keep dreaming.
your post got me thinking of this arts festival that they have every year in okinawa, japan, one of the cities where the bombs where dropped. My sister was invited to perform there once, and she said it is the greyest, most chilling city she has ever seen. BUT every year, they have a huge arts festival inviting people from all around the world to 'light up' the city with dance, music, and plays.
How great would it be if an annual arts festivl was started in Gaza, every year on December 27th for 3 weeks, to commomerate the terrible invasion. I can not think of a more poignant way to resist, or a more powerful message to send to the oppressors than: we choose to live, with art, with beauty, even amid the destrcution you caused us.
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