New Gaza Magazine Offers Exposure
[Gaza City]- The Artist, a new magazine published in the Gaza Strip aims to introduce the public to Palestinian artists, writers, musicians, painters, photographers, performers and creative innovators of all kinds from the Palestinian territories and Arab-Israeli towns. Last month the first issue of the magazine was published in both the West Bank and Gaza, and in the US.
As they are preparing for the distribution of its second issue, the publishers at the Almotar Drama Production Company say they hope to help Palestinian artists thrive.
Drama director and editor-in-chief of The Artist Magazine, Salah Tafesh, told The Media Line in an exclusive interview, that the staff is currently focused on making the new magazine succeed, while disseminating information on all forms of art by talented people from Gaza, the West Bank, Arab Israeli towns and possibly, Palestinians living abroad.
He added that The Artist was created to fill an information gap between young and old artists.
“We want to become a medium for the exchange of information and knowledge between local and international artists,” Tarfesh said. “One of the biggest issues our artists face, is the lack of a library or informational center where the public can be educated on local talents. We want to raise awareness about both young and old talents, while educating the general public and possibly open doors for our artists. We are happy to say that the first issue was widely accepted and praised by our audience and we are very determined to continue.”
One of the artists featured in the magazine is 28-year-old watercolor painter, Majdal Nateel. She was born in Saudi Arabia, where she lived until the age of 10. Her family is from the Palestinian historical town of Almajdal, known now as Ashkelon in present-day Israel. When they returned, they settled in the Alshati refugee camp.
"My father, a talented painter, encouraged me to pursue my artistic talents,” Nateel told The Media Line. “Following secondary school, I studied interior design due to the demand for designers in Gaza, thus allowing me to turn my talents into a career.”
During university, Majdal was awarded the Alaqsa University Prize of Arts,” she said during an interview at the Alqattan Foundation for Children, an organization that sponsored one of Majdal’s projects. "With their financial help, I was able to invest time preparing to exhibit my works last year at the Impact of Light and Glass Exposition. The paintings reflect on the deception of appearances; for instance, some people look elegant, smart, tidy and sweet, but in reality, they are ugly,” Majdal elaborated.
She first began producing abstract pieces, in an attempt to reflect the reality of her hometown, particularly after the 2008 Israeli military offensive on Gaza, following rocket fire on Israel. Afterwards, she focused on personal reflections, expressing her views on human traits. She is also part of Shababeek, a permanent art exhibition in Gaza City.
As a resident of the Gaza Strip, Majdal is unable to attend her own exhibitions outside of the territory, such as the one currently showing in the West Bank. Her paintings have been exhibited in east Jerusalem and Bethlehem, as well as France and Italy, but she has not been able to attend due to border restrictions. "Artists in Gaza are limited because we cannot move freely outside of the Strip. We also have a hard time mingling with artists abroad. It is incomprehensible that my works have been exhibited in so many places without my presence."
While holding the first issue of the magazine in his office, located at the Edward Said Institute for Music, prominent musician and teacher in Gaza, Ismail Dawood, seemed enthusiastic about this stepping-stone for the artistic community.
“It is a great achievement that reflects positively on the artists and talents in the Strip,” he told The Media Line. “For me, The Artist opens a window of opportunity that I can use to disseminate my work."
Dawood received a scholarship from the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Culture to pursue his education in Tunisia. He has been a lute teacher at The Edward Said Institute for Music since 2003. He said he finds inspiration in old classical musicians from the Arab world, like Mohammad Alqasabjy, Farid Al-Atrash and Riyad Alsonbaty.
"The Artist can be an important tool for communication between local Palestinian artists and Arabs all across the globe, that will help promote Palestinian art worldwide,” he said. Dawood is hopeful that the Artist will bring forth homegrown talents and help build unity among Palestinian artists.
Born in 1953 and raised in the northern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Jabalya, veteran accomplished novelist and deputy-head of the Palestinian authors union, Abdallah Tayeh, told The Media Line that even though he has been writing since 1975, he is pleased by the emergence of The Artist.
Tayeh has published five novels and five other series of short stories. Some have been translated into English and Spanish, including his most famous work, 'Moon from Beit Daras’, named after the town where he was born in historical Palestine, that his family was forced to leave due to the Israeli-Arab war of 1948, which Palestinians call the Nakba, or Catastrophe. His literature depicts Palestinian historical and cultural lives since 1948.
He said that the years following the installation of a Palestinian National Authority, in 1994, were the best for freedom of expression for all Palestinians, but particularly for artists. Under the Islamist Hamas, he said, “artists do not have absolute freedom of expression. Current rulers, are constantly pressing for censorship of arts in different fields.”
Said Albitar, chairman of the board for The Artist, said that the publishers are determined to keep up with the production and distribution of the magazine and make it a successful channel for talents in the artistic field to express themselves and divulge information about their work, and artistic productions in Palestine.
"When I first discussed the idea with some colleagues, I thought about producing a news bulletin that would inform our readers about news of an artistic nature. Later on, we decided to create the magazine, in order to give voice to all Palestinian artists and their works, through the forthcoming issues of The Artist. We managed to circulate the first issue of the magazine for free, but the next issue will be distributed for just one shekel (about 25 cents", Albitar told The Media Line.
The magazine, funded by the financial contribution of local artists, with the Almontar Private Company for Drama and Artistic Productions taking care of producing and publishing the Artist Magazine, is composed of eight colorful large pages, filled with the stories and works of art.
Publishing 2000 copies of the Artist, cost just over $3000.