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Designers, illustrators and artists from across the kingdom shone a spotlight on Palestine throughout October in a bid to celebrate and highlight its culture and history.
Inktober is a month-long creative challenge launched by American artist Jake Parker, and aims to help artists improve their skills and develop positive drawing habits.
Participants can pick their challenge from a list of prompts shared on Inktober’s social media account, create a different drawing for 31 days, usually in ink, and post it online with the hashtag #inktober for all to see.
Bahraini graphic designer and illustrator Reem Al-Hajri, who has raised funds for Lebanon, Australia and Palestine through the auctioning and sale of her artwork, wanted to continue the Palestinian conversation and so she took on Palestine as her challenge.
“Every year alternative lists are created with different themes by the art community and this year I wanted to create a list that highlighted all things Palestine,” said the 34-year-old.
“I wanted the prompt list to inspire hope.
“I also wanted to inform and celebrate the joy, depth and beauty of the Palestinian culture.
“So much that’s in the news and media erases or tries to rewrite history and we live in a world where we are capable of correcting and adding to the narrative. I wanted to inspire people to use their voice, skill, whatever they can bring to the table to support what they believe in. I believe in a ‘Free Palestine’.”
Reem compiled a 31-day prompt list with her Palestinian copywriter friend Shatha Adnan and shared it on her Instagram account @rebelreasonshyme.art with words including key, watermelon, keffiyeh and olive tree to name a few.
The Palestinian keffiyeh is a chequered black and white scarf that is usually worn around the neck or head and symbolises Palestinian nationalism and solidarity. The watermelon is a symbol of resistance with its colours mirroring the Palestinian flag. Many artists had turned to using the watermelon to highlight Palestine as there were times raising the red, green, white and black Palestinian flag was banned.
However, one of Reem’s favourite drawings was bread because ‘it is often considered the glue’ that holds Arab communities together.
“Bread is a word that comprises half of one of the most popular and commonly used Arabic sayings – ‘eish w malh’ (which translates to bread and salt),” said Reem who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design and fashion as well as a Master of Arts degree in fashion design.
“It holds connotations of a shared history and deep bond – a testament to the role food plays as an anchor not just of culture but of friendship, love and community in the Middle East.
“I hope my drawings and Inktober list inform and make people curious enough to learn more about Palestine, the warmth of its people and the depth of its history. I’m also looking into ways I can turn these drawings into a fundraising campaign.”
It has definitely caught the attention of the art community in Bahrain as many joined her Inktober challenge.
Bahraini-Filipina graphic designer and illustrator Hana Maki, 26, said she learned a lot from the process.
“I struggled for the past months to create art for a cause, specifically for Palestine,” said Hana who graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in multimedia-mass communication from University of Bahrain.
“And looking at Reem’s Palestinian prompts, I realised I didn’t know most of them and took it as an opportunity to learn because it’s important to keep culture and history alive.
“My mum comes from the Philippines which has been colonised for centuries. The scripture of the Tagalog language has been erased and is now written with Latin letters like in English.
“So this challenge resonated with me because we need to also raise awareness about Palestine. I followed Reem’s prompts and drew the symbols of Palestine’s identity - from the keys to the houses they were first kicked out of to the watermelon, the keffiyeh and their national flower Faqqua Iris.
“I researched and read about each prompt I drew. So by the end of Inktober I felt fully educated about Palestine’s rich culture.”
Shatha, who also joined the challenge, was thankful to Reem and thrilled to see so many people participate.
“It is so powerful and inspiring to see people stand in solidarity with Palestinians in such creative ways,” said the 32-year-old. “Each of the prompts are deeply meaningful to us as Palestinians and it’s a chance to share the stories behind each symbol.
“Palestinian culture and creativity goes back thousands of years and these symbols reflect how deep our roots are.
“We are more than numbers and headlines and we will always be here, no matter how much they try to erase us. May we draw together in a free Palestine some day!”
To view everyone’s artwork, follow
@rebelreasonryhme.art on Instagram.
