On May 5th, I joined Tom Jeffreys (organiser) Tiki Muir and Emily Cropton on the final day of a walk to raise awareness and funds for Palestinian families. Fundraising link
I made a flag to carry on the day.
Jumana Emil Abboud
It features a quote from the artist, Jumana Emil Abboud (b. 1971, Shefa’amer) who is Palestinian. Her practice is grounded in her homeland’s cultural landscape and she draws on the traditions of folklore, myth-making and storytelling that once animated community life, particularly around times of family or community gathering, such as seed-sowing, water collection, or harvest. In her work, she uses drawing, installation, video and performance, often collaboratively, Exploring personal and collective memory and practices of sharing and re-telling as ways to address experiences of loss and longing, she highlighs the impacts of decades of dispossession and annexation. (adapted from the Campleline website where her work was shown in 2023.)
I seek out the presence of a woman; or perhaps it is she who seeks me out … I attempt to express her intimate voice. To copy the embroidered smile (or frown) of her soul; her womanhood.
Jumana Emil Abboud, from the catalogue to Story Time: an exhibition by artists living in Israel / Palestine. Institute of International Visual Arts, London: Arts Council England. Sherbany, Anna (1998).
Walking in solidarity with the people of Gaza
The shape of Gaza was transposed onto Edinburgh and Midlothian and a solidarity walk was planned around its outline. In total, 23 people walked at one stage or another. This was the second event, the first being in the Scottish Borders and the north of England in 2024. Then, £4000 was raised, and this time it is over £6000. Tom writes:
In placing one map on top of the other, the first thing you notice is how tiny Gaza is. 25 miles of coastline; a population of over 2 million people; bombed for nearly two years, with barely a pause for breath, and no possibility to hide or escape.
Tom Jeffreys (instagram @tom_jeffreys)
We walked and shared stories, poetry readings and more, remembering and celebrating artists and writers from Palestine (Mira Mattar, Hasib Hourani) who express what is happening on the ground, as well as in hearts, there. The event was moving and it was important to be doing it together, both for mutual support and to emphasise the impact.
Walking without a donkey 