Palestinian children find voice through art in West Bank
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In the occupied West Bank near Hebron, artist Sarah Abu Madi established Rommana, an art centre where around 600 Palestinian children process trauma and express their hopes for the future.
Abu Madi founded the centre in 2020 to provide a space for children to discuss their experiences with settler violence and Israeli military raids. The centre’s work has become more urgent as violence and settlement expansion have increased in recent years.
Children at Rommana are encouraged to articulate their feelings about events like military raids and encounters with settlers. Through drawing, they explore themes of freedom and aspiration. One 10-year-old, Talia Sabah, depicted birds flying from a cage to represent her desire for freedom from military presence. The Rommana studio is in Wadi Al-Samen, a Hebron neighbourhood cut off from the city by six military checkpoints.
Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 and has occupied the territory since then, while Israeli settlements have expanded rapidly. Abu Madi hopes to grow the centre to serve all 3,000 children in the neighbourhood, believing that art allows them to imagine and create a different reality for themselves. The children’s artwork has already been displayed internationally, including in Canada, with plans for an exhibition in Mexico.
