A group of artists in North Clare have come together to raise money for a charity helping the people of Gaza. The North Clare Artists for Palestine held a recent art auction event and raised €12,825 to date for Médecins Sans Frontières Ireland’s Gaza Emergency Fund.
A founder member, Fiona O’Dwyer explained the origins of the group, “We got together at the end of October or early November. We all attended the weekly Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign rallies in Ennis. We were conscious that we could do something through art to raise money. First, we designed and printed tee shirts, then discussed other ideas such as a concert, but settled on Art Action for Gaza. The group includes musicians and visual artists, so wanted to focus on art broadly.
We secured the courthouse gallery in Ennistymon as our venue, and put together a music and art event. In response to an appeal to artists worldwide for donations of art, we received a large number of postcard sized artworks to auction. Larger art works were donated by local artists. So, on the day of the art auction, we had music, poetry, speeches, tee-shirts, as well as an art exhibition and an auction. Members also cooked Palestinian food for the attendees.”
“In Palestine, great value is placed on art and culture so we wanted to reflect that,” Fiona said. Other members of the NCAFP include Paul Dooley, Jackie Askew, Marianne Potterton, Sarah Fuller, Finola Graham and Maria Kerin.
“But lots of other people came onboard”, Fiona continued. “Some of us follow a Gaza poets society online, and their poems provided almost a time line of the conflict, bearing witness to the terrible events taking place. So, we printed those poems and attendees read them, so that was very powerful and people were very engaged. Refaat Alareer’s poem “If I must die” was recited in Irish. The British-Palestinian author Isabella Hammad said “Basically, it’s easy to feel useless, and from there it’s a short leap to despair. But I don’t believe we can afford to despair, nor do I think despair is ethical.” So, we felt we had to act and not feel useless. Everyone who participated gave their time and their work for free.”
“There is also a lot of censorship of Palestinian artists. It is done routinely in Palestine by the Israelis. But it is happening in other ountries now, especially Germany, Britain and the USA- Palestinian art exhibitions have been cancelled. So, we wanted to counter that. We
raised awareness as well as money, both were focuses of the event.”
“Conor McGrady gave a moving opening address on the role of art and culture in demonstrating and promoting solidarity. Tony Whelan filmed everything on the day and made short videos for social media and so we have an archive. Students from the Limerick College of Art, and the Burren College of Art also donated works which we were delighted about because students are so important to movements for Palestine worldwide”, Fiona concluded.
The North Clare Artists for Palestine Gofundme page is still open for donations.