'In Gaza, art is not a luxury, it is an act of resistance'
How artists have documented the daily, lived experience of injustice, brutality and war
I was catching up on episodes of the brilliant books podcast Backlisted only to discover an author from the North West who I knew nothing about - Olaf Stapledon, philosopher and writer of science fiction before it was called science fiction. Born in Wirral, he spent much of his childhood in Egypt before returning to the Peninsula. His first novel, Last and First Men (1930), caused Arthur C Clarke to write: “No other book had a greater influence on my life.”
The episode is well worth a listen, not just for the discussion about his work, but also for writer and critic Matthew De Abaitua’s amusing refusal to accept Stapledon’s status as a Scouser because he was from Wirral. You can guess what he offers up instead.
This week’s main event is a piece by the climate journalist Sarah Hartley who writes the excellent Northern Eco publication. This feature, about the exhibition Until The End of the World, Art from Gaza at Rogue Artists’ Studios, Manchester, was first published in The Planet on Sunday.
This is a free post for everyone but if you do decide to support my writing by becoming a paid subscriber then you will receive lots of extra content including a monthly guide to the best of what’s on in Liverpool, Manchester and across the North West, as well as Meet the Artist features, curators’ picks of 5 things to see in their venue and the Stored Honey podcast. Either way - thank you for reading.
‘When words fail, art speaks’
Manchester is hosting this powerful and remarkable exhibition to provide a vital insight into the lives of eighteen of Gaza’s leading contemporary artists.
With journalists still unable to officially access the country and bear witness to the conflict, the work of artists in the region is a rare glimpse into the reality on the ground. As the organisers say, “it offers a daily, lived experience of injustice, brutality and war and how the participating artists have documented, interpreted and responded to the horror of the on-going catastrophe.”
Attending on the opening day of the exhibition taking place in the voluminous former school building occupied by Rogue Studios I was fortunate to bump into curator James Walmsley and grabbed a few words.
He told me how he established connections with the artists having visited Gaza back in 2015 and worked with them to bring Until the End of the World to Openshaw.
“I hope that people will come here to see world class artwork by the leading artists, and they will hear their voice.
“I tried very hard to not just present their art, but to present their voice. I hope that the audience will see the resilience and the integrity of the artist and how they are creating such incredible work under the most horrific and appalling and unimaginable conditions - that would be my hope.”
James’ visits to Gaza in 2015 and 2022, led to him experiencing first hand the vitality and creativity of Eltiqa and Shababeek Studios, the two main artistic hubs in Gaza City, both now destroyed by Israeli bombs.
Having watched the horror unfolding on our television screens over the past few years, it’s easy to imagine we all know about Gaza. But this exhibition is a timely reminder of the numbing effect of those repeated screen based images versus the human creativity and fresh, tactile nature of artistic expression.
My personal favourite exhibit was the small, quiet defiance shown by Maha Daya’s Devastation Series (see above) with the meticulous stitching of her embroidery. The simple statements of Genocide, Stop the War and Don’t Forget Us prick our collective conscience.
In the accompanying information, Maha says she continues to work with Palestinian embroidery, “not merely as a traditional craft but as a space for memory, resistance and survival.”
Maha has recently relocated from Gaza to Paris and James told me that many of this group are now exiled in France.
“Six of the artists are still in Gaza. The other participating artists have been able to leave Gaza in the last twelve months through a French cultural program, so many of the artists are now living in Marseille.”
Other works on display at Rogue cover the full span of painting and photography with the pierced heart of the poster for the event taking a central position (see above). That large artwork probably needs no words of explanation or interpretation.
I’d urge you to make time for this exhibition if you’re able to visit the studios and it seems fitting to end this brief view of the exhibition with the words of participating artist, Shareef Sarhan: “In Gaza, art is not a luxury, it is an act of resistance. In every painting, in every idea transformed into a work of art, there is a message: ‘We are here.’”
Until The End of the World, Art from Gaza is at Rogue Artists’ Studios, Manchester, until Saturday 21 February.
See your work featured in Stored Honey
If you’re an artist, actor, theatre maker, curator, director or producer, I’d love to hear more about your work. You can submit details of an exhibition, performance or cultural event by sending details and an image to laura@lauracdavis.com. If you would like to take part in Stored Honey’s regular Meet the Artist feature, please answer the questions in this Q&A or if you don’t like filling in forms I can send you the questions via email.
In case you missed it
Opening this week
The memories of women working in Barrow’s banks during the great shipyard strike of 1988 have been turned into a musical comedy.
Written by former bank workers, Enid Milligan and Carmen Sayle, Follow The Money shares how the industry changed over the decades and includes the time when banks offered a lifeline to cash-strapped families involved in the strike.
Part of Theatre Factory’s IF! Inclusion Festival, a year-long programme of plays about Barrow life, it’s at The Kill One in Duke Street, Barrow, on Thursday 29 January and Friday 30 January. Tickets are free or by donation.
Now booking
Ai Weiwei’s first major exhibition in the North of England will open at Factory International’s Aviva Studios in Manchester this summer.
Ai Weiwei: Button Up! will confront 200 years of turbulent world history in a show centring on two major new commissions created especially for the venue, including the world-leading artist and activist’s largest 2D artwork to date - made from more than one million toy bricks. Thursday 2 July to Sunday 6 September.
Thank you for reading the 163rd edition of Stored Honey. If you enjoyed what you read then please hit the ❤️ button as it helps to get it shown more widely.
I’m off now to persuade my 11-year-old daughter to help me complete the escape room in a box she gave me for my birthday.
Have a great week,
Laura
Stored Honey is a member of the Independent Media Association, and adheres to its Code of Conduct.
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