When
to
Where
Addi Road Gumbramorra Hall
142 Addison Rd
Marrickville NSW 2204
Australia
Why
You are invited to a public conversation on cultural boycotts and anti-Palestinian racism with international guest speakers, Samir Eskanda and Khalid Abdalla, two internationally recognised voices working at the intersection of culture, politics and human rights. Together they will reflect on the role of culture in moments of moral crisis, practical strategies for cultural solidarity and BDS, and the risks, responsibilities and possibilities facing artists and institutions today.
In the past week 180 writers, artists and public figures - including Zadie Smith, Jacinda Ardern and Yanis Varoufakis - have withdrawn from Adelaide Writers’ Week and the Adelaide Festival following the cancellation of Palestinian-Australian author Randa Abdel-Fattah.
Despite subsequent back-pedalling and apologies, the incident has exposed deep fault lines in Australian cultural institutions around racism, censorship and freedom of speech. As state and institutional repression intensifies amid Israel’s ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, urgent questions arise about the ethical and moral responsibilities of artists and cultural workers.
Globally, tens of thousands of cultural figures and major arts organisations—including many in Hollywood—have endorsed cultural of apartheid Israel, or taken concrete steps to end their complicity in artwashing genocide and crimes against humanity.
This will be a space for frank conversation, shared responsibility and collective imagining.
Please register via Humanitix.
Speakers
Khalid Abdalla is a British-Egyptian actor (United 93, The Kite Runner, The Crown), producer, writer and activist. Khalid is a founding member of Egyptian collectives Cimatheque and Mosireen. His celebrated one-man play, Nowhere, is currently showing at the Sydney Festival.
Samir Eskanda is a Palestinian-Irish artist and organiser, who has provided strategic guidance to cultural solidarity initiatives worldwide. He has played a key role in mainstreaming the cultural boycott of Israel as a meaningful form of solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle.
Venue
Arab Theatre Studio is grateful for the generous in-kind support from Addi Rd Community Centre to make space for this meeting.
For updates check the Humanitix event.
Contact
Arab Theatre Studio
[email protected]
arabtheatrestudio.com
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Resources
