September 26, 2011
Palestinian kids artwork goes on display despite cancellation
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An exhibit of Palestinian children’s artwork illustrating the Gaza War was shown in an outdoor venue after a California children’s museum cancelled the display under pressure from the community.
The exhibit of artwork created by children aged 9 to 11, titled “A Child’s View From Gaza,” whose pictures showed bombs falling and people being struck by them, and tanks firing, was displayed Aug. 24 in a downtown Oakland courtyard and will be displayed for two months in a space a one-minute walk from the Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland, which canceled the original show, scheduled to open in mid-September.
The exhibit was organized by the Middle East Children’s Alliance.
The Alliance told the Oakland Tribune that the children’s museum approached them on Sept. 22 about rescheduling the cancelled event.
A statement from museum board member Randolph Belle explained:
“When we canceled the exhibit ‘A Child’s View from Gaza’ earlier this month, we did so both because we lacked a formal policy for sensitive content, and because we were not confident that we had the resources to deal with the numerous concerns we received regarding the exhibit. In response to input from the community and careful consideration by our board of directors and staff, the Museum of Children’s Art has developed a new policy governing the exhibition of items with sensitive content.”
