Life and Art and the relevance of art in Gaza.

At Dar Al Basha, an 800-year old house testifying to the greatest cultural heritage of Gaza located in the Centre of Gaza Old City.

---

Why is it so that in a place like Gaza – and for that matter in so many other places in the world where it is difficult to survive because of violence, war, poverty or misery – people often strongly crave art?

“ART WASHES AWAY FROM THE SOUL THE DUST OF EVERYDAY LIFE.” Pablo Picasso

Take the example of the music school in Gaza, founded in late 2008, a few months before war broke out in December 2008. The building where the school was located was hit. Barely two months after the war, the music school re-opened. What was so urgent and important about giving music lessons that drove Gazans to regain the means and instruments as quickly as possible? The same goes for all those visual artists who populate Gaza. What inspires all of these artists to want to make art in such difficult conditions?

The answer is simple: it makes them feel human.
Security, a roof over your head, food and health, these are all important elements for survival as a living being. But art is something that makes that being feel human, not just a creature that lives and survives.

Maybe more than anywhere else, it is in places such as Gaza where such longing is strongest. It is a form of rebellion against a life which is measured only in terms of survival. It is a form of rebellion to which we as GLAZZA are happy to contribute. We wish with GLAZZA to contribute to peace and development in Gaza through working in the field of glass art.