Whose streets? our streets.put your feelings where people will see them
Emmalene Blake, Samia al-Atrash, and Masa Khader
This is Emmalene Blake, an Irish street artist whose work connected her with Samia al-Atrash, the woman she painted in this heart-wrenching scene.
This is Samia al-Atrash, a freelance journalist of Gaza, currently living in Rafah (the southern end of Gaza that Israel herded over 1.5 million displaced civilians with the promise of safety in the south, only to begin bombing refugee camps this weekend.)
This is Masa Khader, the little girl featured in Emmalee Blake's murals, and Samia Al- Atrash's niece.
Banksy in the West Bank
art tells a story - and social media is a good tool for this
This one highlights the hypocrisy and performative nature of the US dropping aid into Gaza while also being responsible for the bombs dropped, which far outweigh the PR stunt of the aid drop.
Why does one family deserve a peaceful and happy day under trees and birds while another lives in constant fear, under bombing and war planes?
Both deserve peace and safety. We are all the same.
Activist artists like @devthepineapple use art to support a message that is also delivered through text. Their work is awesome and their art style is a delightful reprieve amidst the horrors we've seen.
Everyone has an art style. And everyone has something to say. So if drawing it is easier than saying it, don't doubt yourself, just draw it out. Silencing yourself is allowing outside forces to have power over your expression. Speaking out in whatever way feels right to you is decolonizing your mind.