Sunday 5 November 2023, 2pm
In light of the serious ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, we're hosting a matinee event to raise funds for M.A.P (Medical Aid Palestine). The event will include performances from Dirar Kalash and Kareem Samara plus a screening of Noor Abed's short film our songs were ready for all wars to come, with 100% of proceeds going towards the organisation.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works in partnership with Palestinian communities to uphold their rights to health and dignity. They do this by developing effective, sustainable and locally-led healthcare services, providing medical aid during emergencies, and campaigning to break down the barriers to Palestinian health and healthcare today and for the future.
We acknowledge that as long as there is no ceasefire, fundraising drives alone are not the solution. We add our voice to all those calling for an immediate ceasefire.
If you are unable to attend please consider donating directly to M.A.P. here: https://www.map.org.uk/donate/
dirar kalash (b. 1982) is a musician and sound artist whose work spans a wide range of musical and sonic practices within a variety of instrumental, compositional and improvisational contexts. kalash also extends his practice into inter-disciplinary theoretical research. he has produced several solo and collaborative musical albums and is active as touring musician, in addition to that he also created several sound installations, live audio-visual performances, field recordings and soundscape compositions series under the title of Sonic Front.
Kareem Samara is a musician and composer from London. His work combines instruments used in traditional Arabic music along with electronics, creating new lines of dialogue between traditions resulting in a unique soundscape and performance.
https://kareemsamara.bandcamp.com/
Noor Abed (b. 1988, Palestine) works at the intersection of performance, media and film. Her artistic practice examines notions of choreography and the imaginary relationship of individuals, creating situations where social possibilities are both rehearsed and performed.
our songs were ready for all wars to come (2021) is a 22-minute film of choreographed scenes based on documented folk tales from Palestine. It begins with four minutes of darkness and the haunting sound of a woman’s voice. The perforated edge of the film, occasionally silhouetted by flashes of light, highlights the nature of the work as a mediated document. Images of women performing draw connections between latent stories of water wells and communal rituals associated with disappearance, mourning and death. The only narration in the film is a song, which is sung by Palestinian singer Maya Khaldi. Its lyrics are a collage of different folk tales.
The film explores the critical stance of ‘folklore’ as a source of knowledge and its possible connection to alternative social and representational models in Palestine. How can folklore become a common emancipatory tool for people to overturn dominant discourses, reclaim their history and land, and rewrite reality as they know it?
