They started the war to kill our hopes, but we won’t let that happen: Exhibition of Children’s Art from Gaza
This exhibition, organised by Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research’s art department for the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November, highlights artwork from children and youth from Gaza, Palestine.
Ibraheem Mohana entered adulthood in the midst of Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people. A student of Gazan artist Mohammed Sami – who was killed on 17 October 2023 from an Israeli attack – Ibraheem began to follow his teacher’s path and host art classes for children in his neighbourhood in northern Gaza. To Ibraheem, ‘Art is how we speak when words don’t come easily. With a pen, a piece of paper or even an empty food can, I show kids here in Gaza that art is everywhere. It’s a way to tell our stories, to let out what we feel inside’.
This exhibition collects artwork from twenty children in Gaza over the past year, recovering some beauty, humanity, and resistance from the rubble of a genocidal war. It also includes five original artworks by Ibraheem Mohana created between 2022 and 2024. For him, teaching art in a ‘fun and entertaining way’ allows the children to ‘understand art a little bit, and be proud of themselves’ – the children in Gaza, after all, are still just children.
As of now, over 44,000 Palestinians – including 10,000 children – have been killed by Israeli forces, supported by the US and other Global North nations. These children’s artworks are the seeds of a future for Palestine; together they assert: from the river to sea, Palestine will be free.
Passed away in November 2024 from a harmful disease.
Evacuated with her family in October 2024.
