Why are the streets so small?
A psychosocial summer school programme for children in Deir al Balah, Gaza
Pressure Cooker Arts partnered with the Nawa Culture for Arts Association to pilot a series of educational/psychosocial photography workshops for children in Gaza. The project is a response to the profound need for psychosocial support for children in Gaza, who live under Israel’s blockade and who routinely witness violence and aggression resulting from the occupation, blockade and military attacks. It was facilitated by Pressure Cooker Arts and implemented by Nawa. Reem Abu Jaber was the Project Manager in Gaza. Rich Wiles was appointed by Pressure Cooker Arts to lead on the photographic training and evaluation.
Twenty-six children in total, aged between 10–16, participated in the summer school, along with four local trainee photographers. It culminated with a launch exhibition and the discussion that was generated within Gaza, and amongst the media, about the launch revealed two notable facts.
This was the first time that any kind of public art exhibition had ever been staged in Deir al-Balah – the city is an agricultural area that lacks any public art spaces, galleries, or museums, unlike other cities in Gaza.
Secondly, it was believed to be the first time that a children’s photographic exhibition, featuring children as young as 10 years old, had been staged in the Gaza Strip.
In the light of the reality in Gaza today, the images that the children selected for the project’s portfolio are more poignant than they were at the time. The realities of Nawa and every local participant have been altered in the most painful and tragic ways since October 2023 – and the need for psychosocial support going forward is unfathomable.
At Home in Gaza
Pressure Cooker Arts was delighted to be involved in ‘At Home in Gaza and London’, Station House Opera‘s innovative performance project in 2016.
The project’s four-week research and development workshop from October–November was produced by Pressure Cooker Arts and Artsadmin.