When you picture stories about Palestine, you might picture lots of tears.
Not at Golden Thread Productions, Crowded Fire Theater Company and Art2Action’s Festival of Palestinian Art.
“As the genocide continues in Palestine, it is a radical act of resistance to center Palestinian laughter and joy through this festival,” Golden Thread’s new artistic director, Nabra Nelson, said in a statement.
Nailah Unole didanas’ea Harper-Malveaux, Crowded Fire leader of artistic curation and producing concurred.
“Limiting Palestinian art solely to narratives of suffering is another tool of erasure and dehumanization,” she said in a statement.
The festival features a filmed version of Alaa Shehada’s solo show “The Horse of Jenin,” a Bildungsroman about what happened to a public sculpture in the West Bank bulldozed by Israel Defense Forces in 2023. It also includes a staged reading of “A Country Made of Salt,” Denmo Ibrahim’s new play with a baker, a mystic and a falcon as characters.
Rounding out the lineup is Amreeka 2026, a comedy show composed entirely of Palestinian comics, including Suzie Afridi, Majdy Fares, Lana Salah and Charles McBee.