West Bank contemporary arts festival resumes in Ramallah after Gaza war shutdown

RAMALLAH: One of the occupied West Bank’s biggest cultural events opened in Ramallah on Monday, marking its first edition since the war in Gaza brought much of Palestinian cultural life in the territory to a halt.

Khaled Aliyan, the director of Ramallah’s Contemporary Arts Festival, said the event was returning after what he described as a forced two-year break caused by the war in Gaza. He said the festival, which had previously focused on contemporary dance, now includes Palestinian artists working across a wider range of disciplines.

Art, theatre and film festivals in Ramallah and elsewhere in the West Bank had largely stopped after October 2023 amid rising violence, Israeli military raids and attacks by Israeli settlers. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Aliyan said culture and the arts have long held a distinct place in the Palestinian struggle because they express identity and strengthen Palestinian society’s role. He said the festival’s revival came despite the pressures facing daily life in the Palestinian territories.

Opening performance and programme

The festival began at Ramallah’s Cultural Palace with a performance of Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah, a musical play based on the Arabic poem of the same name. The production recounts the story of the Banu Hilal tribe, described as one of the best-known Arab folk epics.

The play was staged by Khashabi Theatre, a Palestinian acting company based in Haifa in northern Israel. The group was performing the work in the Palestinian territories for the first time after previously touring it in Europe.

Among those attending the opening was Ola Hanna, who came with her family from the Arab town of Ramleh in northern Israel. She said she hoped Palestinian cultural life would recover to the level it had before the Gaza war. Speaking after the performance, she said that "Without music and joy, for me there is no life".

The festival is scheduled to run until July 16 and features 48 artists and artistic groups. Its programme includes dance, theatre, circus performances and video art.

Arts forum and wider significance

The event will also host the Palestine Arts Forum, bringing together 22 artists, cultural programmers and arts institutions from 15 countries.

Art critic Youssef al-Shayeb said that mounting a festival of this scale, with a varied contemporary performing arts programme, was an achievement given the conditions in the Palestinian territories. He pointed to settler violence, a rise in checkpoints and Israeli military operations across the West Bank.

"Simply continuing life is, in itself, an act of resistance," Al-Shayeb said.