Picture Balata Palestinian US Tour

Picture Balata In Chicago This Week!
Picture Balata puts the camera into the hands of the children born and raised inside the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Participants ranging from ages 11 to 18 photograph their situation as they live it in Balata Refugee Camp. Showing their work and speaking about their lives, the photographers will travel to New York City; Washington, DC; Pittsburgh; Youngstown; Boston; Chicago; and San Francisco.

Three teenage participants from the Picture Balata workshop are in Chicago this week! These young people, leaving the West Bank for the first time, will be able to educate Americans on the reality of the situation in Balata Refugee Camp and occupied Palestine. The tour will also give them the chance to see that people outside Palestine support their work and the Palestinian struggle for justice, especially the Right of Return. The tour also aims to raise funds to purchase cameras, computers and Internet access so that, after further training, the workshop participants, nine in total, will be able to do everything from taking the picture, editing it on their own computer, and then publishing it on a website for the entire world to see. This self-sustainable project will give these young people the opportunity to further pursue photography and other media as a form of self-expression and resistance. For more information on any of these events, please email http://us.f324.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=info@psgchicago.org or call 312.656.8211.

The photographers will be in Chicago on the following dates:

Thursday, April 12

NPR Radio Interview
12 Noon
Listen to Picture Balata youth on National Public Radio (NPR)!
Their interview will be broadcast as part of the Worldview program at 12pm (CST) on 91.5 FM and online at http://www.wbez.org/Program_WV.aspx
Friday, April 13

Exhibition Opening! ACME Art Works 1741 N. Western, Chicago, IL 60647 6-9pm $10 Suggested Donation. Light dinner will be provided. Sponsored by the Palestine Solidarity Group - Chicago and Al Awda Chicago.
Saturday, April 14th
Nablus Society Annual Dinner Featuring Picture Balata Saint Xavier University (SXU) 3700 West 103rd Street, Chicago, IL 60655 Main Campus - Butler Room 5:30 PM -- 9 PM

Admission: $30 adults; $15 for children (12 years and younger). Call 312 804 4000 for ticket information.This event will include a full dinner with poetry, music, and a live Debka performance.