ABOUT THE EVENT

This convening nurtures the creation of a place, albeit temporary, where we can come together in learning and dialogue to reflect on our role and experiences as artists and culture makers catalyzed by the events in Palestine/Israel, and the extraordinary loss of life and rupture of humanity. This teach-in will include testimony by artists with direct lived experiences in Palestine/Israel. Guest artists include Palestinian culture makers and activists Alana Hadid and Mohammad Qasem, School of Theater alumni Noga Wind and Sayda Trujillo, and School of Art alumna Dorit Cypis. We will discuss the interconnected nature of oppression, offer somatic tools for generative meaning-making, and kindle creative action for a world where all people live in freedom, justice, equal rights, and dignity.

GUEST ARTISTS

ALANA HADID

Alana Hadid is a creative director, branding specialist, human rights activist and the child of a Nakba survivor.

DORIT CYPIS

Dorit Cypis is an artist, educator, and mediator. Her work, which explores themes of history, identity, and social relations, has been presented in diverse cultural contexts across the US and internationally since the 1980s. Cypis received a Master of Fine Arts from California Institute for the Arts and a Masters of Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University. In 2014, she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Rauschenberg Foundation Residency. Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, and raised in Montreal, she currently lives in Los Angeles.

MOHAMMAD QASEM

Mohammad Qasem grew up in Ramallah, Palestine and moved to California in late 2017. He completed his education at the University of San Francisco and soon after graduation started working at Meta as an Editorial and marketing specialist. In his free time you'll find him either at the beach or playing volleyball. 

He loves learning new things, so he spend a good amount of time reading articles on new trends in technology and entertainment. He is very passionate about community work and is involved with many organizations in the Bay, Palestine and LA supporting many causes.

NOGA WIND

Noga Wind (they/she), is an anti-Zionist queer activist, actor, writer and multi-hyphenate creative. Originally from Jerusalem and a CalArts alum, their activism is always at the center of their artistic practice and professional life. 

SAYDA TRUJILLO

Sayda Trujillo was born in Montreal and grew up in Canada, Guatemala and the USA. She is an actress, and theatre-maker/educator specializing in voice and movement, as well as devising original physical theatre performances.  Identity and storytelling inspire her personal work, as well as collective work with actors and non-actors. Her performance and teaching experience abroad includes work in Guatemala, Ecuador, Chile, Singapore, Spain, Germany, Colombia, UK, Egypt, India and Palestine with The Freedom Theatre.

ORGANIZERS

ELIE KORIO - CALARTS STUDENT ORGANIZER

Elie Korio is a 27 year old Artist/Filmmaker born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. He is a first generation Angeleno with roots in Beirut and Jerusalem. As a queer Lebanese-American, Elie actively fights to raise awareness towards the violent Apartheid and “pink washing” that his tax dollars fund. He is a member of the Students and Faculty 4 Palestine group at CalArts, where he studies. Elie loves to make art with his friends, and his first feature film is currently under way. His work can be on found on his website and on his instagram @eliekorio.

EVELYN SERRANO - CALARTS FACULTY ORGANIZER

Evelyn Serrano is a mother, Cuban immigrant, multidisciplinary artist, educator, and activist. Her practice lives at the intersection of creative placemaking, memory, community engagement, social justice, and the healing of our relationship with the land and our more than human relatives. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This event would not be possible without the support of the CalArts Provost Office, Eva Graham, and the CalArts School of Theater.

We are grateful for our volunteer facilitators Avalon Greenberg and Nadia Kareen Abudawas, and for our student volunteers Angel Lopez and Kody Nelson.