WEST BANK: Italian artist captures the experiences of Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli jails

Record ID: 560110

  • Title: WEST BANK: Italian artist captures the experiences of Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli jails
  • Date: 4th July 2011
  • Summary: CLOSE OF PICTURE OF PALESTINIAN FEMALE PRISONER HUGGING HER FATHER AFTER BEING RELEASED PICTURE OF PALESTINIAN EX PRISONER WITH HER CHILD MORE OF PICTURES WOMAN LOOKING AT EXHIBITION
  • Embargoed: 19th July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank, West bank
  • City:
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Crime,Arts
  • Reuters ID: LVA6S7JQE4IKI98PVVYHW20V95SU
  • Story Text: An exhibition titled 'Suspended Lives" draws inspiration from the experiences of Palestinian female ex-prisoners in Israeli jails.
    Through the life stories of Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli Jails, Italian artist Ventura Formicone has shied away from stereotypes and brought their voices to the art world.
    Through photographs, testimonies and audio recordings he has documented their lives and experiences in a unique and vibrant way.
    24 -years- old Sana Amr, a former prisoner who served seven years in Israeli jails, said the exhibition accurately mirrored the lives and experiences of female prisoners.
    "Usually our experience is unique. I am telling everyone that the female prisoner who was in jail wants society to accept her and not just hear her story or look at her picture or watch a movie about her or hear a song about her. We want society to feel that she suffered and to respect that. I do not deny that there are people who feel and respect us," she said.
    With his modern style, Formicone vividly brings the stories to life.
    "Also we want to say thanks to the women who...(shared) their story for like to the world to know what's happening to them," he said.
    Today, 37 female Palestinians continue to be held in Israeli prisons, out of a total of 7,500 inmates, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club.
    Prisoners detained in Israel are often denied medical care while being housed in squalid conditions. This can include being forced to share cells with rodents, Palestinian human rights organisations have reported.
    Visitor Darwish Abu Rish said the exhibition cleverly raised issues of human rights and gender equality through its images.
    "The exhibition is great. It summarizes the experience of Arab Palestinian people from the view of the Palestinian woman. This is something new for the Palestinian woman because there was a kind of absence of the Palestinian woman in the resistance and the Palestinian life," Abu Rish added.
    The exhibition was organized by Al-Mahatta Gallery in the West bank city of Ramallah by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). Formicone's work was funded by the Spanish government.
    Ventura Formicone started his work in 2009 in the Occupied Palestinian Territory with UN Women, however this is the first time fo him to work with Palestinian prisoners.
    The exhibit will end on July 7th, after which time it will travel to Europe. The artist said he also intends to show his work in Tel Aviv.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
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