Arts and Culture

Tonight, Palestinian street artists struck again – as they had promised to do – this time in southern Jerusalem, or more specifically “in Talpiot, an Israeli commercial area, built on Palestinian land of Baqaa and Beit Safafa.”

Palestinian artists penetrated the heavily fortified heart of West Jerusalem overnight and painted graffiti bearing political messages on walls, doors, construction sites and other surfaces.

Being a Muslim, I never celebrated Christmas myself, but having lots of Christian friends inside and outside Palestine has connected me to this day. I’ve always shared it with them one way or another, since I believe that religion shouldn’t stand as a barrier between human beings. Here, I describe how I celebrated Christmas and how Christians in Gaza celebrate it. I recall some of my childhood memories from my only visit to the Church of Nativity since I was 9 years old.

One of the largest shareholders of high-end French fashion firm Lacoste is a major donor to Israel and Zionist causes. Lacoste has been at the center of a scandal over the company’s insistence that Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour be forced out of the prestigious Lacoste Elysée Prize in Photography.

The Musée de L’Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland has suspended the 2011 Lacoste Elysée Prize, a presitigious international photography contest, over the sponsor’s decision to expel Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour. The following press release was issued by the museum.

Susan Youssef’s new feature film Habibi has won the award for Best Arab Feature Film at the 8th Dubai International Film Festival.

The high-end French clothing chain Lacoste has demanded the removal of work by Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour from the shortlist for the €25,000 Lacoste Elysee Prize that is awarded by the Swiss Musee de l’Elysee with sponsorship from the firm.

Artwork made by Palestinian children after Israel’s attacks on Gaza in 2008-09 — and subsequently censored by the Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland — is now available in book form.

The trailer for Sleeping on Stones, the feature film that is the current project of Palestinian-American director Nicole Ballivian, made my heart leap.

Palestinian poets Rafeef Ziadah and Remi Kanazi spit fire with two extraordinary poems, performed last weekend in London.