Watermelon Dreams: Art As Resistance
Date/Time
September 28th, 2024
Location
Online
Event Overview
The event "Watermelon Dreams: Art as Resistance" brought together artists, advocates, and community leaders to explore the profound impact of art in the Palestinian struggle for freedom. It underscored the transformative role of creative expression in amplifying resilience, hope, and advocacy for Palestinian rights.
The event opened with a moving showcase of drawings by refugee children, offering a window into their lived experiences and aspirations despite adversity. Gilbert shared the inspiring role of Love8 Singapore in supporting Palestinian kindergartens, emphasizing the power of collective support. Terence Tan introduced his work with Camp Theater in Gaza, where puppetry serves as both a therapeutic and educational tool, bringing comfort and learning to children impacted by conflict.
Our Art for Mankind’s Executive Director, Daniela Pereira, was invited as a panelist to share insights from the Art for Palestine campaign. She highlighted how the campaign, a creative initiative from Art for Mankind, has successfully raised $10,000 to support six families in Gaza through the sale of art pieces donated by artists worldwide. Daniela’s reflections illuminated the collective power of art to mobilize resources and provide tangible support for Palestinian families facing daily hardships.
The event also featured powerful performances by local poets, including Muhammad Sabrin, whose poetry conveyed the resilience and hope that persist amid Gaza's suffering. Other poets performed pieces touching on identity, resilience, and homeland, uniting the audience in a shared sense of solidarity and global advocacy for Palestinian freedom.
Through this gathering, "Watermelon Dreams" showcased art's enduring capacity to resist oppression and amplify voices, forging a powerful sense of unity in the global movement for Palestinian liberation.
Other Panelists
Singapore Palestinian Film Festival
- The Singapore Palestine Film Festival is an event organized by 4 individuals committed to highlighting Palestinian narratives, culture, history, and experiences through cinema.
- Its aim is to raise cultural awareness and increase understanding of the situation among Singaporeans of the situation in Palestine while providing an avenue for Singaporean to show solidarity.
- The Singapore Palestine Film Festival featured a variety of films, including documentaries, feature films, and short films, produced by Palestinian and other filmmakers highlighting Palestinian life, culture and the oppression that they are facing.
- The other objective of the film fest was to raise funds for relief and aid efforts in Palestine by the Singapore Red Cross for their Red Cross Red Crescent Movement Partners. Through ticket sales, vendors of flea markets, sponsors, and an online auction, they managed to raise about $107,450.
- Started in July 2023, Layl Ash-Shayr (meaning “Poetry Night”) has become a platform for Muslim writers in Singapore to share their stories, engage with fellow creatives, and find community through open-mic and spoken word sessions. In just a year, Layl Ash-Shayr has hosted over 12 events and launched their first anthology, "Layl Ash-Shayr Vol. I: The Opening Act", featuring 20 SG-Muslim poets. Their journey continues with writing workshops, collaborations, and features in local media, aiming to uplift Muslim voices in the local literary scene.
- Speakers:
Independent Speaker
Advocate for the puppet arts, community artist and painter.
A social activist who organizes humanitarian aid trips for refugees originating from the middle east for 7-8 years