Direct from Palestine: a Conversation with Bard and Al Quds University

Join us on October 14th, from noon – 2 pm, for a community conversation with faculty and students living and studying near the Wall.

Direct from Palestine, from Abu Dis to Philly, a community conversation with the Philadelphia area and Bard and Al Quds University faculty and students. These two universities are located in Abu Dis, the Wall sits directly in front of them. This is an opportunity to hear first hand accounts about what life is like living, working and studying behind the Wall. This event will zoom in the people from Palestine to discuss the current situation behind the Wall, as well as what work is being done in solidarity in the US. For US participants please attend InLiquid Gallery.

This discussion is in conjunction with the solo exhibitoin La La Lil Jidar: 20 Years Behind the Apartheid Wall in Palestine, currently on view at the InLiquid Gallery.

Aisha Mershani’s (they/them) photography focuses on the Israel Apartheid Wall, visually exposing the realities on the ground in Palestine, reframing the source of violence. For nearly 20 years Mershani has photographed military checkpoints, popular demonstrations, house demolitions, destroyed villages, and the daily lives of Palestinians living under the violence of the Israeli Apartheid.  Most recently, in 2022, Mershani returned to the Occupied West Bank, finding countless people that were photographed in 2004/2005 to photograph them again, showing time behind the Wall.

Mershani’s photographs have been exhibited in numerous galleries, multiple publications, as well as many internet news sites over the years to further the awareness of the ongoing situation on the ground in Palestine. They are also one of the artists in the reference book, “Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists“.

Aisha Mershani was born in Las Vegas, Nevada to an American Jewish mother and a Moroccan Muslim father. Mershani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Redlands in California, and a Master’s and a Ph.D. degree from the UNESCO program in Peace, Development Studies, and Conflict Transformation at the Universitat Jaume I in Castellón de la Plana, Spain.

Their work comes from a place of concern about the injustices occurring in the Middle East, and a commitment to artistically expose these injustices and educate those outside of the region. For Mershani it is vital to view Palestine/Israel beyond US mainstream news framing. The expression of everyday life is the primary objective of their documentary photographic work.

The InLiquid Gallery is located within the Crane Arts Building which is wheelchair accessible. There is limited accessible parking at the front of the building, and a ramp leading into the main entrance. The main building door is not automated. Two all-gender bathrooms with multiple stalls are available for use — one with urinals, one without, and both with 1–2 wheelchair-accessible stall(s).