French Palestinian Cultural Spring
The most significant cultural event of this spring did not take place in Palestine, but in France, with the start in April of the three month long Palestinian Cultural Spring celebrations. The Spring is the result of collaborative efforts of the French ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture, a number of French cultural agencies and institutions, the Palestinian Delegation to France, and the Palestinian Ministry of Culture, upon a French initiative. It is the first-ever event of its kind, giving a panoramic view of contemporary Palestinian culture. All the events & activities open in Paris, and tour the most important French cities. There are currently no web resources on the Spring, but below is a sample of some of the most important events:
Visual arts & Exhibits:
An exhibit of works by Palestinian visual artists ; a photo exhibit on the Dome of the Rock; Houses of Bethlehem exhibit; a photo exhibit by young French people of immigrant origin showing Palestinian every day life; a photo exhibit on Palestinian refugees from the UNRWA photo archives; a photo exhibit of archeological finds from the archives of the Jerusalem-based French archeological mission "Ecole Biblique"; a photo exhibit of political graffiti on Palestinian streets; a calligraphy exhibit, a French-Palestinian photo exhibit on the Dead Sea; and artistÂ’s residences for ceramist Vera Tamari, painter Taysir Batniji, Khalil Rabah, and photographer Awad Awad .
Music
Sacred music recitals by the Jerusalem Sufi ensemble; concerts by contemporary Palestinian group Sabreen; Recital by soprano Tania Nasir of Palestinian poems; a number of individual solo classical music recitals; recital by the Nazareth Takht (classical Arabic music orchestra); and a number of folkloric music concerts.
Theatre:
Production of a number of Palestinian plays such as Death & the Maiden; the Emile Habibi monodrama The Opsimist ; Harvest Nights by the Beit el Karma Arab Israeli Theatre; in addition to smaller Franco-Palestinian productions.
Literature:
The core of the literary program is the translation of a number of works by Palestinian contemporary authors into French, and their invitation to give readings in a number of French cities. The authors selected are: Mahmoud Darwish , who was decorated with the Arts & Letters Order of Merit, Fadwa Touqan, Gharib Asqalani, Zaki al Ileh, Liana Bader, Riyad Beidas, Sahar Khalifeh, Izzidine al Manasirah, Samih al Qassim, Elias Sanbar, Edward Said and Anton Shammas.