Pledge of Support Letter:
Campaign Page
http://aztheatre.org.uk/wordpress/2018/08/19/campaign-fund-for-theatre-in-gaza/"
PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT for the Gaza Cultural Centre Campaign.
Email: gazacentrecampaign@aztheatre.org.uk
Organised by a group of artists and activists in Gaza, Ramallah, London and New York, this appeal is supported by Caryl Churchill (Playwright, UK), Harriet Walter (Actor, UK), Iman Aoun (Actor, Co-Director: Ashtar Theatre, Palestine), Omar Al Qattan (Chair: A M Qattan Foundation, UK), Wallace Shawn (Playwright US), Jamal Al Rozzi (NGO Chief Executive Officer, Co-Director: Theatre of Everybody, Palestine), Jessica Litwak (Theatre Director, HEAT Collective, US), Shalva Wise (Producer & Organizer, US), Jonathan Chadwick (Theatre Director, Az Theatre, UK), Hossam Madhoun (Child Protection Officer, Co-Director: Theatre for Everybody, Palestine), Deborah Eisenberg (Writer, US), International Committee for Artists Freedom (UK)
We, the undersigned, are shocked at the total destruction of the Said Al Mishal Cultural Centre in Gaza on August 9th, 2018 by a targeted Israeli military airstrike.
We stand with those in Gaza and the wider community who describe their great rage and deep pain at the obliteration of this symbol of Palestinian culture and identity, as they mourn the destruction of one of the few large venues for theatre and music in besieged Gaza.
Since its establishment in 2004, Al Mishal served as a home for hundreds of plays, ceremonies, exhibits, musical performances and community events. The centre also included recreational activities for children who have been affected by three successive wars in Gaza, including a dabkeh dance school for hundreds of local children. It is a devastating loss for the already isolated community.
We pledge our support for the campaign to continue the Al Mishal’s role through this international campaign to rebuild a cultural centre for Gaza.
The Gaza Cultural Centre Campaign organisers are committed to developing and working with an international action committee rooted in Gaza’s creative community.
We urge all those concerned with the importance of creative culture to pledge their support to this effort. We mean this to be a demonstration of the strength of our feeling and as a commitment to be active in the project of rebuilding a cultural centre for Gaza.
This appeal is supported by the Palestinian Performing Arts Network. PPAN Statement here
Supporters: April de Angelis (Playwright, UK), Les Waters (Theatre Director, US), Sacha Wares (Theatre Director, UK), Maysoon Pachachi (Film-maker, UK), Dr. Gottfried M. Heuer (Jungian Psychoanalyst, UK), Penelope Skinner (Playwright, UK), Phyllida Lloyd (Theatre Director, UK), Dr Ghada Karmi (Doctor of Medicine and writer, UK), Dr Swee Ang (Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, UK), Chris Knight (Professor of Anthropology, UK), Camilla Power (Senior Lecturer in Anthropology, UK), Deborah Kaufman (Film-maker, US), Alan Snitow (Film-maker, US), Steve Tompkins (Architect, UK), Salma Samar Damluji (Architect, Iraq & UK), Rufus Norris (Director, National Theatre, UK), James Macdonald (Director, UK), Dominic Cooke (Director, UK)
Rebuild Gaza’s Cultural Centre Campaign Pledge Appeal
We, here named, condemn the bombing and total destruction of the Said Al-Mishal Cultural Centre in Gaza on 9 August by an Israeli air-strike. We support those in Gaza and the wider community who describe their great rage and deep pain at the obliteration of this symbol of Palestinian culture and identity as they mourn the destruction of one of the few large venues for theatre and music performances in besieged Gaza.
Since its establishment in 2004, Al-Mishal served as a home for hundreds of plays, ceremonies, exhibits, musical performances and community events. It was the venue of choice for theatre companies in Gaza and a space for Gaza’s top musical acts. The centre also included recreational activities for children who have been affected by three successive wars in Gaza, including an innovative dabkeh dance school for 250 children. It is a devastating loss for the already isolated community.
We pledge our support for the campaign to rebuild a cultural centre for Gaza and the continuation of Al Mishal’s mission. This condemnation and appeal is supported by the Palestinian Performing Arts Network.http://aztheatre.org.uk/wordpress/gaza-drama-long-term-2/statement-on-destruction-of-al-mishal-centre-by-palestinian-performing-arts-network/ The organisers are committed to working with an international action committee rooted in Gaza’s creative community. We urge artists worldwide and all those concerned with the importance of creative culture to pledge their support and register their membership of this network of support. We mean this to be a demonstration of the strength of our feeling and as a commitment to be active in the project to rebuild a cultural centre for Gaza.
Notes:
1. You can pledge your support as an organisation or an individual
2. The temporary custodians of the list of members of the support network are Az Theatre (London) http://www.aztheatre.org.uk and The HEAT Collective (New York) http://www.theheatcollective.org
3. Your name (individual or organisation) will appear in public.
For further information about the destruction of the Al Mishal
Cultural Centre:
Article posted on Hyperallergic on the dayafter the bombing
10 August 2018, https://hyperallergic.com/455225/al-meshal-
cultural-center-gaza/
Letter from leading UK practitioners published in The
Guardian on 16 August 2018:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/16/we-
condemn-the-destruction-of-gaza-cultural-centre-in-israeli-
airstrike
Article from The Guardian 16 August 2018:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/16/uk-
playwrights-condemn-bombing-of-gaza-theatre
Video made in Gaza about the loss of the Cultural Centre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4iXUqtE_0g&feature=yout
u.be