The following article was originally published in the Chicago Reader in October 2024. It was inspired by  “Landscapes From Under the Rubble” a group exhibition + fundraiser at Co-Prosperity, 3219 S. Morgan, coprosperity.org through 10/13.

“Life for artists in Gaza has never been easy,” says Chicago-based Palestinian designer and visual artist Linda Abdullah. Illustrating this point is Abdullah’s latest curatorial endeavor, “Landscapes From Under the Rubble,” which opens Friday, October 4, at Co-Prosperity.

Presenting work in three parts, the exhibition includes work produced in Gaza prior to October 2023—much of which has since been destroyed by the occupation; work created by artists after leaving Gaza; and work produced by artists who remain in Gaza, waiting for a ceasefire, and “using,” Abdullah told the Reader in an email interview, “whatever materials they can find like hibiscus, tea, or charcoal, to make marks on ruled notebook papers.” The show features the work of eight Palestinian artists (Basel Elmaqosui, Dena Mattar, Majed Shala, Mohamed Abusal, Raed Issa, Rana Batrawi, Shareef Sarhan, and Sohail Salem).

For Abdullah, “Landscapes From Under the Rubble” represents a form of protest documenting “what artists endured as Israeli occupying forces targeted all institutions of knowledge, culture, and education like Al-Aqsa University, Shababeek [for Contemporary Art], and Eltiqa art.” Artistic gestures become defiantly positive in the face of supreme violence—as when artist Salem documents living in a war zone through daily drawings he posts on Facebook that say: “I’m still alive,” or when Elmaqosui converted his tent into a makeshift studio to host art workshops for children and mothers to offer “respite in the face of daily trauma,” or in the colorful paintings by Mattar who “finds hope expressing her grief and fears in color.”

“America needs to hear more Palestinian voices,” Abdullah says. “By showing the artists, their works (or what’s left of their works), and their stories, I hope for this exhibition to be the artists’ protest and a cry out loud for justice and for ending the annihilation of the Palestinians.”