Water Writes and the Maia Mural Brigade came back together after returning from Palestine this summer to share their experience and art in San Francisco’s Mission District. The newly established Eric Quezada Center for Culture and Politics hosted a packed house for the report back from a 2 week delegation to Palestine. The crew of artists from San Francisco, LA, and Washington state shared their stories, images, artwork, and video from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Journalist and muralist Josue Rojas premiered his video about the trip and the process of painting murals at schools across the Gaza Strip. “We visited a place that tourists don’t go. A place that holds 1.7 million people who are not allowed to leave, who’s voice is not heard in the media, who lack access to water and basic human rights. We are attempting to show you a little of what they see, through the art they helped us create” said Water Writes project Coordinator Nancy Hernandez.
Franklin Cartagena of Revolt Graphics spent the entire evening helping guests to silkscreen images onto their shirts, hoodies and bandannas. The crowd was a Bay Area mixture of ages, genders, and ethnicities that by the end of the night were all rockin screenprinted images of solidarity with Palestine.
Photojournalist Pablo Serrano set up a photobooth where guests could make their own signs with messages to Palestine and have their picture taken. The images were contributed to an online photo petition as a part of the Thirsting for Justice campaign to gain access to water and sanitation for the people of Gaza.