Politicians, media professionals and activists mourned colleague Samer Abu Daqqa, an Al-Jazeera cameraman who was martyred on Friday while covering the Israeli bombardment of Farhana school in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. The martyr colleague remained for about six hours after his injury, lying on the ground, bleeding and trapped in the vicinity of the school. He was wounded by shrapnel from a missile fired by an Israeli reconnaissance aircraft. Qatari official: This is the largest number of journalists killed in any armed conflict during such a short time.
During the first intifada, Palestinian musician Riad Awwad released a tape with protest songs calling for resistance to the occupation. The Israeli army confiscated all copies of the album and arrested him. Now, after his death, a new project is bringing his music to light
This month marks a
year since the coronavirus pandemic initiated a series of global shutdowns across art organisations. The immediate effect of the pandemic was a swift shift to digital programming: exhibitions became walk-throughs; fair booths became
virtual viewing rooms; and Q&As became video chats. The amount of material made available online, as well as its uptake among the public, was overwhelming, fuelled perhaps by adrenalin and sublimated panic.
“The digital sphere has always had this sort of secondary position, and people didn’t take it as seriously as they should
- Krist Gruijthuijsen
That flurry of initial activity has subsided, but the “new normal” is still emerging. What have been the effects of a year’s worth of online programming on art organisations, artists and audiences – and specifically for the Arab world?