JANUARY & FEBRUARY, 1997:

* Despite the bitter cold that reigned in Palestine, a number of cultural activities were organized. The fasting month of Ramadan coincided with the months of January and February, and traditional evening music events were organized. The cities of Nablus and Hebron organizes a number of such events, with a series of poetry readings, concerts, etc.. The most successful was the Jerusalem festival, which featured in January & February a festival of Sufi music. A number of troops from Morocco, Turkey, Jerusalem , etc.,, performed to great success.

* In El Bireh, the Popular Arts Center organized in January and February a very successful festival of recent French films, due to continue in March.

Other events:

Awards:

* On January 8, the Jerusalem prize for culture and arts was awarded by the Ministry of Culture to poet Mohammed Ali Taha in a ceremony at the KSCC.

* On January 18, the 1996 Constantine Kavafis poetry prize was awarded to poet Fadwa Tuqan in a ceremony in Nablus hosted by the Greek-Palestinian friendship society.

Literature:

* In Mid January, Issue #50 of Al-Carmel magazine was published after a three-year hiatus. The quarterly cultural journal's editor in chief is poet Mahmoud Darwich.

Theatre:

* At the end of January, the Palestinian production of the acclaimed play 'Death and the Maiden" by the Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman opened to very favorable reviews at the Jerusalem Qassaba Theatre. The play about torture, betrayal, and political struggle was adapted to a Palestinian context. It features acclaimed actors Areen Omari and Mohammed Bakri, and will tour Palestinian cities after its Jerusalem run.

* Later in February, the play "Martyrs return ..(this week)" will open in Jerusalem. It opened in 1996 in Ramallah and toured in Nablus. The play was adapted and produced by the Ashtar Theatre school and company, based on the novel by the same name by Algerian author Tahar Ouettar. Lead actress Iman Aoun won the best actress award at the 1996 Cairo International Experimental Theatre Festival for the role.

Visual Arts:

* A number of Art exhibits opened in January and February, among them:

- The graphics exhibit of Ismail Shammout which opened in December in Jerusalem and opened in Ramallah in February,

- The group exhibit of the New Visions group (S. Mansour, V.Tamari, N.Anani, T. Barakat) of their paintings and works reproduced on carpets. The show opened in December in Khan Younis, and in February in Jerusalem at the Wasiti Art Center.

- Artist Khalil Rabah also held an exhibit of seven new works at the Anadiel Gallery in Jerusalem's old city.

* In related news, artist Samir Salameh returned to Palestine, after a long exile through Syria and Paris. He executed murals at the Red Crescent Society's El Bireh and Khan Younis offices, and was recently appointed director general for the visual arts at the ministry of Culture.