April, 1997:

Cultural Activities this month were few in Palestine, due to the tense political situation, causing the cancellation of a number of events, and to the Adha and Easter holidays. These activities took place however:

Literature:

As a follow up to the Writers Union International Conference (see March) a few authors remained behind, and participated in a number of local activities. Notably, English poet Benjamin Zephaniah gave poetry readings at the Sakakini, in Hebron and Gaza city.

French poet Bernard Noel gave readings in Jerusalem, Gaza city, Nablus and participated in Ramallah, in a joint reading with poet Ghassan Zaqtan

Issue #51 of Al-Karmel, the literary quarterly edited by Poet Mahmoud Darwish was published.

Poet Aniseh Darwish also gave a reading from her new collection at the Jerusalem National Theatre.

The Ramallah-based Tamer Institute launched its annual reading campaign aimed at children. It featured events in most of the Palestinian towns, including Nazareth and Haifa. The events scheduled were children’s book exhibits, public discussions, plays, competitions, etc.. Activities in Hebron were postponed due to the tension there, and some theatrical activities in Gaza city, Haifa and Nazareth were cancelled due to the refusal of Israeli military authorities to grant entry passes to the actors.

Music

The year-long Jerusalem festival concentrated on jazz in April, and presented a number of acts in Jerusalem and Ramallah, such as the Kurdish-German-American Nubun group, Enzo Rao from Italy, and the Austro-Palestinian quartet Abado.

The Jerusalem -based National Theatre hosted a Bach recital by the German Siegen choir, Arabic classical music recitals by local artists Khalil Abu Nicola, Mohammed Abu Khater, Mahmoud Qaraein, Ibrahim Farah, and Ali Musa.

Composer Mustapha Kurd gave a recital of his recent works at the Nablus Hammam Shifa, sponsored by the French Cultural Center.

The Jerusalem YWCA Choir gave a recital in Ramallah, of works by Haydn and Haendel.

Visual Arts

The Marseilles based youth cultural NGO DIA opened a branch in Palestine and began its activities with an exhibit by young Palestinian artists in Gaza city.

The Ramallah French Cultural center hosted an exhibit featuring the designs of the new "Great Library" in Paris.

The Jerusalem French Cultural Center hosted a retrospective exhibit by visiting artist Fleur-Marie Fuentes: "The colors of Exile". Fuentes arrived in Palestine this month, to paint a fresco in an old Nablus soap factory converted into a museum.

Theatre

The National Theatre revived the 1990 play about life in a prisoners’ camp "Ansar", written by Nidal Khatib, Fateh Azzam, and Abed Jubeh.

The Theatre also produced two children’s plays, and hosted a children’s play by the visiting Canadian troop Mur Mur.

The Nablus based Dar el Masrah presented in cooperation with the local French cultural Center a bilingual play called "Drole d’Immeuble", based on texts by poet Jacques Prevert, written & directed by Catherine Charrier.