Renowned American photographer and activist Nan Goldin has donated one of her works to a fund-raising exhibition for young Palestinian artists in New York City.
The exhibition, called Colours That Survived, was curated by US YouTuber Ms Rachel and features drawings by children from Gaza, to whom the proceeds will be donated.
Each artwork has been printed in an edition of 20 and priced at $200 (Dh735). They went on display at Chelsea’s Caelum Gallery in New York on Tuesday and are available to buy online until January 30 through non-profit organisation Artists Support. As of Wednesday, it had raised over $65,000 for the young artists.
Goldin’s work, Ava twirling, NYC (2007), is from her Eden and After series, which focused on children. The photograph is now available online via silent auction until January 19 at 4pm Eastern Time.
“I can never forget the children of Gaza and I am grateful to be allowed this opportunity to help them in some meaningful way,” said Goldin.
“The war on Gaza is a war on children, wiping out multiple generations, erasing the future … I witness the constant terror the children in Gaza live with, while supporting their families and taking on adult roles.
“But I also see the joy in their faces; graduating from school, singing together, and learning to love and rescue animals. The children who survive will need to be nurtured and learn to hop, after living through such unimaginable horrors.”
Colours That Survived has been co-organised by the producers of Oscar-shortlisted film The Voice of Hind Rajab, directed by award-winning Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania.
“From the beginning of The Voice of Hind Rajab, we knew this journey could not end on a screen,” Ben Hania said.
“Our profits from the film were always meant to go to the Palestinian Red Crescent, and to the children of Gaza. Colours That Survived carries the same necessity. These drawings are not symbols; they are evidence. Children in Gaza do not need to be explained, they need to be cared for.”
Ms Rachel, who is beloved by children all over the world for her educational content on YouTube, was moved by the real-life story of Hind, a five-year-old Palestinian girl in the Gaza Strip who was killed by Israeli forces.
As a passionate advocate for children’s rights, she has been outspoken on the topic of Palestine in recent years.
“It’s never been wrong to say starving and bombing kids is wrong,” she wrote on her Instagram account in May.
“Leaders, be so ashamed of your silence … Be so ashamed that you normally speak out for children and human rights, but won’t now because they are Palestinian.”
The artworks included in the exhibition show the devastating realities of life in Gaza, as well as the children’s hopes for the future. Ahmed, 12, whose drawing depicts a child carrying all of his belongings and a house on his back, hopes the exhibition will show people they’re just “normal kids”.
“We are not just something people see on the news,” he says. “We are children with names, dreams and memories. We love football, drawing, laughing and playing. I hope when they see my drawings, they see us as children, just like their own, who want peace, love and a chance to live.”
