Conversations coming up this October in conjunction with the exhibition, Like a Bird’s Nest. Join the FENTSTER newsletter list to be notified of updates.
Abu Suleiman with Lea Mauas from the Sala-Manca Group
ONLINE Conversation with Abu Suleiman of the Jahalin Bedouin Tribe
Thursday, October 1 | Noon (EDT) | 7 PM (IDT / EEST)
Abu Suleiman meeting with artist Lea Mauas and the Sala-Manca Group in Khan al-Ahmar
Mohammed (Abu Suleiman) al-Korshan - is the public representative of the al-Korshan family, members of the Jahalin Bedouin tribe that currently reside in Khan al Akhmar area between Jerusalem and Jericho in the West Bank. In 2014, the Sala-Manca Group, the artists behind the new FENTSTER exhibition Like a Bird’s Nest, connected with Abu Suleiman and together they collaborated on a project to transform one of the community’s shelters into a sukkah, which was later acquired by the Israel Museum in Jerusalem as a work of art. This collaboration is explored in the Toronto exhibition alongside additional projects connected to the displacement and impermanence of the sukkah. Artist Diego Rotman will be in conversation with Abu Suleiman about this project and how he approached it as a creative avenue to bring public awareness to the circumstances of the Bedouin who live in precarious conditions, displaced from their traditional herding lands. He will share updates on their circumstances in recent years and on the eco-tourism business that expanded as a result of the al-Korshan’s collaboration with Sala-Manca.
Register for the Zoom link, please note that a different date was previously posted
The Days Before, The Days After & The Days Ahead
Monday, October 5 | 7 - 9 PM
Casa Do Alentejo Community Centre | 1130 Dupont Street, Toronto
Meet us earlier at the exhibition, Like a Bird’s Nest (1411 Dufferin Street) for a tour with the artists at 6 PM and take the 7 min walk over together to the community centre for the talks followed by light refreshments.
Regrettably the meeting room at Casa Do Altentego is not accessible. To address this limitation, the event will also be livestreamed. Click here to register for the interactive livestream.
For many in our communities, October 7, 2023 became a tipping point moment launching unprecedented levels of violence, loss, and grief. That day and the bloodshed and destruction in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel that followed has upended lives in the region as well as locally. Meet three people - researcher Bashar Al Shawwa and artists Lea Mauas and Diego Rotman - who lived through that day in the West Bank and Israel, and who have since also made Toronto home. They will speak about how they work to affect change in the conditions for Palestinians and Jews in Israel-Palestine, and to advance productive dialogue here in Canada.
What to expect from the evening:
From October 5 to 6, 2023, the artist collective Sala-Manca Group together with friends and eco-activists, installed a temporary monument for peace on a Jerusalem hillside, which was disassembled the following day. Artists Lea Mauas and Diego Rotman will speak about that project and how they channel art interventions and community initiatives to advocate for a shared society of mutual thriving, dignity and safety. Rotman will also speak about a collaborative project he spearheaded, building a Green Roof with a group Palestinian and Jewish students in November 2023 on the Mt. Scopus campus of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Al Shawwa will speak about his personal experiences growing up as a Palestinian refugee including his work in the days before and the day in the Palestine-Israel peace camp. He will share how he has become the Director of Strategic Communications and Advocacy with the Toronto-based C-Space Group dedicated to conflict resolution and reducing polarization in Canada and beyond. He has also taken on leadership roles with the Friends of Standing Together as the Toronto Co-Chair.
Be prepared to listen and come together in community dialogue.
Light refreshments will be served.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Learn more about the artists here
Bashar Al Shawwa is a Palestinian Nakba refugee with family roots in Gaza. Born outside Palestine, he returned to Palestine following the Oslo Accords. In 2014, he was severely injured by an Israeli sniper while participating in a peaceful protest. He has lost dozens of family members, friends, and colleagues as a result of the war, and has advocated for non-violent activism since 2017. He is a distinguished researcher and expert in regional and international political affairs, specializing in conflict resolution, sustainable development, and advocacy, with extensive experience analyzing Palestinian and Israeli internal affairs. Al Shawwa is a proficient analyst and advocate for joint efforts in regional peace making and leads efforts to build resilience against all forms of hate, including anti Palestinian, anti Muslim, and anti Jewish hate, strengthen community resilience to polarization linked to Middle East conflicts, and foster inter community dialogue and multi community alliances across the diaspora.
Online Conversation with writer Riwaa Abuquta
Tuesday, October 20 | Noon EDT | 7 PM (IDT / EEST)
Riwaa Abuquta is a young writer, educator and storyteller from Rafah, Gaza. For the last year, she has been working with artists from the Sala-Manca Group. They connected after Abuquta formed a relationship via social media with “Officer Az-oolay,” a performative activist clown who attends public demonstrations in Jerusalem to deescalate tensions using humour and absurdity. Their friendship was the basis for an installation in an exhibition organized by Sala-Manca earlier this year.
Riwaa Abuquta
In keeping with the themes of shelter, displacement, and the meaning of home in our exhibition, Like a Bird’s Nest, Riwaa Abuquta will speak about her family’s current living circumstances, residing together in a tent in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, after being forced to leave their home in Rafah in May 2024. Months later, the family learned that their home had been destroyed. Abuquta’s sister Lulu, who has cerebral palsy, urgently needs a medical evacuation and specialized care that has been delayed for more than two years. Their tent is overcrowded, fragile, and offers little protection from the cold, rain, and wind. Abuquta will also share how she continues to write and create during this time of great difficulty and danger to share her story broadly, aiming to keep human connection alive across borders.
To learn more about Riwaa's family situation to offer support, click here