VISUAL ART AND OTHER ENCOUNTERS
REVOLUTION MUST MEAN LIFE
Maysam Khreibeh, in collaboration with Nasim Asgari and Labour4Palestine
With poetry at the core, this project weaves together film, music, installation, and performance. Tracing the “crevice between hope and despair”, a space that Palestinians know all too well, the work presents a glimpse into the intersections of the labour movement and the Palestinian liberation movement. The project amplifies a collective call to action from Labour For Palestine that transcends BDS resolutions and highlights the central role of workers’ struggles in the resistance against the Zionist regime. This work was envisioned and supported through a series of interviews with organizers from Labour for Palestine on Turtle Island and organizers on the ground in Palestine, situated in Al Khalil, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Ramallah.
The violent attacks on Palestinians throughout 2021 exposed realities of settler colonialism, apartheid and occupation in ways the world could no longer shy away from. Taking the lead from Palestinians on the ground, dockworkers to labour unionists mobilized en masse against the ongoing oppressive systems of occupation, ethnic cleansing, and land theft. Revolution Must Mean Life explores the power of the people and all the ways that they create cracks, breaks and fissures within an oppressive system.
On May 22nd, visitors are invited to drop by Whippersnapper Gallery, meet artist Maysam Khreibeh and make or bring a poster relating to Palestinian liberation that will later be added to the exhibition walls.
This project was developed through Mayworks’ Labour Arts Catalyst and is co-presented with Whippersnapper Gallery and Trinity Square Video.
Revolution Must Mean Life is exhibited May 4 – 31st at the Whippersnapper Gallery (storefront window, available to view from outside 24/7.
Poems from the work will be read May 6th at The Living Voice: An Evening of Labour Arts Poetry.
Maysam Khreibeh is at the Whippersnapper Gallery on Sunday May 22nd 2-4pm.
MAYSAM KHREIBEH
Maysam Khreibeh is a Muslim settler with Palestinian and Syrian roots, who was born and raised in Tkaronto (Toronto). Maysam is an aspiring educator, poet, and organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement (Toronto Chapter) where she is committed to seeking collective liberation. In her work, she has explored questions of settler colonialism, maternal lineages, food histories, and more.
She is grounded in her community and seeks to nurture healing, justice, and generosity in her organizing. She has published pieces in the academic journal New Sociology: Journal of Critical Praxis (2020), in addition to the Queen’s Journal of Indigenous Studies (2019), Ghassan Kanafani Resistance Arts Scholarship Anthology (2019), and Collective Reflections (2018). She was awarded 2nd place for the 2020 Ghassan Kanafani Resistance Arts Anthology. She was a featured panelist at the international Palestine Writes Festival, speaking on a panel entitled “Architects of Our Narrative” for emerging Palestinian writers.
She was a featured poet at the Canadian Spoken Word Festival in 2019 and has performed poetry in two productions of Down There. Catch her reciting poems at your local Palestine solidarity action!
