Artistic community workshops @ Quebec/Canada Conference on BDS Movement
- Saturday October 23rd / Sunday October 24th 2010
Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM)
Pavillon des Sciences de l’Éducation
1405 St-Denis (corner René-Lévesque)
room NM 140 (pavilion N métro level)
Montreal, Quebec, metro Berri-UQAM
Join us for a series of workshops on artistic engagement with the Palestinian struggle for freedom taking place at UQAM within the framework of “Carrying Forward the Momentum Against Israeli Apartheid” an international gathering in solidarity with Palestine taking place in Montreal between Oct. 22-24. Through open workshops, we aim to create a space for various artistic networks from Montreal and beyond to come together in order to reflect, discuss and build collective strategy as artists working to support the struggle for Palestinian freedom.
As a series of workshops taking place within a broader global conference, we aim to share experiences but also to generate ideas regarding future steps that we can take as artists to support the Palestinian struggle. As artists, our engagement with the key issues and struggles of our times plays a profound role in shaping the politics of our society from the grassroots to the halls of political power. Today, the artist movement has taken unprecedented steps to support Palestinian human rights and freedom via the global BDS movement and we need to come together to highlight ways forward.
History of Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel
workshop 1: Building an artistic movements for Palestine via BDS
Saturday October 23rd
13h45-14h45
Room NM 140
Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM)
Featuring presentations on both contemporary organizing & the history of the development of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel, featuring:
Omar Barghouti
Independent Palestinian researcher, commentator and human rights activist, Omar Barghouti is a founding member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the Palestinian Civil Society Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from Columbia University, NY, and a master’s degree in philosophy (ethics) from Tel Aviv University. In addition, he is also a freelance choreographer. Barghouti is also the author of an upcoming book, BDS: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights, which is published by Haymarket. A French version of it has already been published in Paris by La Fabrique, April 2010.
John Greyson
John Greyson is a film/video artist whose features, shorts and installations include Fig Trees (2009), Proteus (2003), Lilies (1996) and Zero Patience (2003). An associate professor in film at York University, he serves on the advisory boards of Vtape, Inside/Out and the Toronto Palestinian Film Festival. A member of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid, his BDS shorts on youtube include Hey Elton and Vuvuzela.
Amy Darwish
Amy Darwish is a social work graduate student and community organizer, active in feminist, migrant justice, and Palestine solidarity networks in Montreal. She is a member of Tadamon! (Arabic for solidarity), a collective that works in solidarity with struggles for justice, equality, and self-determination in the ‘Middle East’, as well as in diaspora communities in Montreal and beyond.
Hip-hop in the struggle for social justice & toward Palestinian freedom
workshop 2: Facilitated by hip-hop artist Invincible @ BDS conference
Saturday October 23rd
15h00-16h00
Room NM 140
Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM)
Detroit based Hip-Hop artist and activist Invincible will present a workshop on the relationship between struggles for social justice & hip-hop culture, looking specifically at Invincible’s work to support the struggle for Palestinian liberation & the global boycott, divestment & sanctions (BDS) movement.
Montreal artists in solidarity with Palestine
workshop 3: Reflections on the collective Montreal artist declaration in solidarity with Palestine & in support for the global BDS movement
Saturday October 23rd
16h00-18h00
room NM 140
Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM)
Featuring a series of presentations from artists who signed the 500 artists against Israeli apartheid letter released last winter, including :
Marie Boti (documentary filmmaker Multi Monde Productions)
Peter Burton (executive director of Suoni per il Popolo festival)
Moe Clark (Métis sound artist)
Omar Dewachi (musician/academic)
Peter Gibson – Roadsworth (visual artist)
Malcolm Guy (documentary filmmaker Multi Monde Productions)
Jahsun (percussionist/Kalmunity Vibe Collective)
Kaie Kellough (author/poet)
Kevin Lo (designer/artist/Imaging Apartheid)
Lousnak (singer/multidisciplinary artist)
Ezra Winton (founder Cinema Politica)
Building artistic solidarity for Palestinian freedom
workshop 4: Building collective artistic strategy toward Artists Against Israeli Apartheid
Sunday October 24th
9h00-12h00
Room NM 140
Université du Québec à Montréal (UQÀM)
Discussion and strategy session aimed at addressing how best to move forward as an artistic movement for Palestine. This workshop will include two breakout groups, one that will address ways that artists are working personally to incorporate the BDS movement and generally the Palestinian struggle into their artistic practice. The second breakout group will focus on ways that we can as artists build collective projects to support the BDS movement.
BDS Quebec 2010 Conference
From October 22nd to 24th, artists, activists, academics, and community members will converge for a historic conference aiming to build momentum for the global boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement. The conference aims to provide a space to reflect on recent successes, assess current challenges, and chart future directions to support the Palestinian struggle for freedom and self-determination. The BDS movement traces its’ origins to the Palestinian call to boycott in 2005, endorsed by over 170 civil society organizations.
