June 10, 2021. New moon.

Hosted by PHI Centre in Tio:tia’ke/Montréal, sisters Sundus and Tamara Abdul Hadi entered PHI’s Shared Studios portal and connected with 7 inspiring artists and cultural workers in Gaza.

A few things to say about this powerful connection:

It almost didn’t happen. We Are The Medium had been working on the Gaza connection with PHI for a couple months. As we got closer to our portal date, the inhumane Israeli attack on Gaza happened. We cancelled the planned connection, in respect to the collective grief and recovery of the city and its inhabitants. It didn’t feel right to speak about trauma and healing when their trauma is so recent, ongoing, complex, compounded.

The portal was being packed up in a few weeks. We realized that this cannot be postponed. 44 cultural institutions in Gaza were destroyed or damaged in the assault. We must stand with Gaza. This is the moment to bring their voices into Canadian cultural institutions where representation of Palestine is rare if at all. They choose the topic, we make the space. So, in a weeks time, Mira Bakri weaved together this incredible snippet of community in Gaza:

Our generous participants were 

• Mohammed El Hatta, from Tamer Institute for Community Education

• Mohammad Al Massri, filmmaker 

• Sameh Rahmi, photographer

• Malak Mattar, visual artist

• Mayed and Maya Humaid, amazing twin sisters 

• and Mira Bakri, the curator

It is practically impossible for us to visit Gaza because of the siege, as it is also extremely difficult for Gazan's to get permits to leave Gaza (even to the West Bank). Even the road leading to the portal in Gaza at Gaza Sky Geeks was damaged in the attack. These conversations are necessary, important, and extraordinary because they are not supposed to happen at all.

Special thanks to PHI Centre for providing and facilitating this brave space.