Drawings from Gaza. Surviving Genocide: Stories of Life, Loss and Dreams
About this activity.
"Art therapy is not about producing beautiful objects; it is about restoring dignity, resilience and hope. For children in Gaza, drawing, painting or simply shaping something with their hands can mean reclaiming a sense of safety and control. Each line and each color is a testimony to what they have lived through, but also to what they still dream about. For me, working with these children is both a responsibility and a source of strength. Their creativity resists erasure, their voices resist silence, and their imaginations remind us that even in the darkest times, art can open a window towards healing and life" - Maysa Yousef, artist and art therapist from Gaza.
For over 76 years, generations of Palestinians have endured systematic oppression: land theft, forced displacement, carpet bombing, blockades, military occupation and apartheid. Every day this violence imposed by Israeli forces and settlers is devastating Palestinian children and robbing them of their childhoods. Growing up amid genocide, nearly all children feel that their death is imminent, and half of the child population have expressed a wish to die.
The drawings and letters gathered in this exhibition are acts of survival and grief, imagination and resistance. They bear witness to the experiences of children living through genocide while affirming their humanity in the face of attempts to erase it. To see these works is to confront both unbearable pain and irrepressible creativity.
The exhibition invites viewers to listen closely - to the children’s colors, lines and drawings as urgent messages to the world. They remind us that bearing witness is not enough; these images call for recognition, accountability and action. To stand before them is to be asked not only to see, but to respond - with a commitment to end genocide, occupation and apartheid.
Berger & De Vries.
Antiquariaat Berger & De Vries stelt haar winkelruimte actief open voor kunstenaarsinitiatieven. We nodigen makers uit om gebruik te maken van de winkel als ruimte voor experiment, presentatie of performance. De winkel is geen white cube, maar een levendige, boekenrijke omgeving waarin kunst en publiek elkaar op een laagdrempelige manier kunnen ontmoeten. We denken graag mee, ook inhoudelijk.
Antiquariaat Berger & De Vries actively opens its retail space to artist-led initiatives. We invite artists to use the shop as a space for experimentation, presentations, or performances. The shop isn't a white cube, but a vibrant, book-filled environment where art and the public can connect in an accessible way. We're happy to contribute ideas, including content-related ones.
Location.
Antiquariaat Berger & De Vries
Pelsterstraat 27
9711 KH Groningen
www.bergerendevries.com