Jerusalem24 – On 27 June, the Palestine International Festival 2022 launched its 21st edition, after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19.
The Festival, dedicated to music and dance, is a creative, cultural and artistic project which communicates with the outside world and contributes to breaking the cultural siege which has been imposed on Palestine and the Palestinian people for decades.
Iman Hammouri, the Director of the Folk Art Center, said on Vibes that the festival at its core has a cultural and artistic quality and provides the Palestinian public with the entertainment they crave.
On opening night, Hammouri stressed the importance of the Palestine Festival as an artistic lever for Palestinian art, music, and culture. She added that the festival dedicated this year’s edition to the spirit of Shireen Abu Akleh, in a gesture of loyalty to her memory and her struggle for Palestine.
This year’s Palestine International Festival hosted a group of local and Arab singers and bands, namely the Bayat Musical Association from the Upper Galilee, artist Hamza Namira from Egypt, the Palestinian Folklore Ensemble, the artist Donia Masoud from Egypt, the artist Noel Kharman from Palestine, and the Baladi Folk Arts Troupe from Bethlehem, Al-Zababda Group for Dabkeh and Folk Arts, Shams Al-Karama National Center for Culture and Arts from the Gaza Strip, Watan Art Troupe from the Gaza Strip, Al-Fursan Art Troupe from the Gaza Strip, Badil Ensemble from the Gaza Strip, and Laila Band from the Gaza Strip.
The Palestine International Festival has been a creative cultural and artistic way to communicate with the world since 1993. The Folk Art Center took the initiative to organize it, to be the first of its kind in Palestine, to contribute over the years to encouraging and inspiring the creative production of Palestinian artists, especially young people, as the festival worked to break the siege the Israeli occupation has imposed on the Palestinian people for decades.
Hammouri said that the Palestine Festival aims to encourage a culture of diversity and change through arts and culture, and to involve all generations and many regions. For this purpose, preparations have been made to organize this year’s activities to be distributed between Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jenin, and Gaza, for the largest possible number of guests to visit the festival from all parts of Palestine.
Listen to the full interview on Vibes.
https://soundcloud.com/24fmpalestine/vibes-eman-hamouri
