25 Artists in Gaza Stage Exhibition of New Works Expressing Grief Amid Genocide

Even as they struggle to access food, art supplies, and shelter, Palestinian artists put the burdens of war on canvas.

As universities in Gaza resume online teaching after months of suspension due to the ongoing genocide, 25-year-old Mohaned Asayas, a student in the art department at Al-Aqsa University, said he struggled with the practical aspects of his art courses. “This is not only my problem but also that of all my classmates,” he said, “as the war has destroyed most of our studios, made art supplies unaffordable and scarce, and deprived us of a motivational and inspiring space for drawing.”

Asayas thought deeply about a solution to this problem and, with sufficient support from the Palestinian Ministry of Culture, brought his idea to life by launching a workshop he named Aphenix. The initiative offered artists in Gaza a much-needed space to breathe, away from the burdens of war, and provided them with artistic tools to create new works.

Asayas said that through the workshop, 25 artists had the chance to come together for three hours a day in a coffee shop in the heart of Gaza City, creating their own world, laughing, sharing knowledge, and drawing with different materials such as soft charcoal, pastel, and acrylic.

The workshop lasted a month, culminating in an exhibition titled Aphenix, named after the workshop itself, which was held in July 2025. The exhibition took place in a spacious area inside the same coffee shop that had hosted the workshop, using modest means — wooden pillars and fabrics on which the artworks were displayed. People across Gaza came to see this exhibition and hailed it as the first art exhibition held during the war.

The exhibition aimed to channel the heavy burdens of war onto striking canvases. Each artist produced works that conveyed not only personal stories but also the collective experiences of their people — tales marked by starvation, displacement, relentless bombardment, and profound loss. With a total of 55 pieces, the artists transformed their pain into powerful visual narratives, compelling the world to witness both their suffering and their resilience.

Bisan Al Amasy, 20, an artist who participated in both the workshop and exhibition, said the harsh circumstances and instability caused by repeated displacement during the war had kept her from drawing until then. “Depression had sapped my energy and focus, and the loss of my studio made creating art even more difficult,” she said.

Al Amasy added that the workshop was the perfect opportunity for her to return to creating art. “It helped lift me out of the difficult mental state I had been struggling with, as I began using art as a way to release the negative energy and intense pressure caused by the war,” she said.

Al Amasy worked on two paintings for the exhibition. In each, she said she relied on soft charcoal for drawing, in addition to her own style characterized by random lines and sudden strokes as a way of expressing the inner confusion and psychological turmoil she carries inside.

In her first painting, Al Amasy depicted Gaza City, exhausted by war, as a donkey showing signs of psychological and physical fatigue, as well as hunger. She explained that, in this work, she burdened the donkey with weights beyond its capacity — symbolizing the killing, international silence, and displacement that Gaza City has endured since the beginning of the war. She added that her choice of the donkey, in particular, reflects the animal’s inseparable role in daily life, as it transports people and goods, carries the injured and the dying to hospitals, and shares in the same hardships as the people.

In her second painting, Al Amasy sought to shed light on the famine gripping Gaza. She explained that in her work, she tried to depict pale faces and emaciated bodies gazing at the sky in search of a glimmer of hope, reflecting the dire situation of the residents of the Gaza Strip.

Inas Rayan, 22, a visual artist, also said her participation in the Aphenix project increased her confidence and helped her return to the creative world where she belongs after she had struggled with feeling lost and unsure of herself, especially following her father’s killing and the destruction of her home during the Israeli ground invasion of Jabalia refugee camp.

Rayan said that before the war began, she loved to draw with bright colors, creating paintings full of life and optimism. However, after the war, she noticed that her artistic vision had changed significantly. She now has begun to draw with darker colors, depicting scenes of destruction and loss in an attempt to convey the suffering and pain of her people.

Rayan presented three artworks at the exhibition, including a powerful piece that told the story of a young boy named Mohamed, who lost his father in the war. Through this work, Rayan highlights the harsh reality faced by children in Gaza, where the loss of the family’s primary provider forces them to shoulder adult burdens far too soon. At an age when they should be playing, learning, and dreaming of a bright future, these children are instead compelled to care for their families while coping with profound loss.

Fadal Tafish, 30, an art teacher specializing in acrylic painting, said the Aphenix workshop lifted him from the ashes, allowing him to reclaim even a small part of his life as an artist before the war began. “I was happy to be able to pursue my work as an artist, helping others develop their artistic skills despite all the challenges,” he said.

Tafish also participated in the exhibition, painting an acrylic piece depicting the features of Gaza as the face of an elderly woman, her wrinkles bearing witness to the destruction of homes and the ongoing killings. He explained that he chose the face of an elderly woman to show that the genocide we are living through has taken us back to the era of the Nakba, when our grandparents were displaced from their land under the threat of massacres.

At the same time, Tafish emphasized that the elderly woman’s face is one of the symbols Palestinians hold dear. To him, it embodies hope and an unwavering attachment to the Palestinian homeland — a testament that, despite everything, our spirit will not be broken, and we will rise once more to rebuild Gaza.

Despite the immense challenges Asayas and his fellow artists faced in bringing this exhibition to life — hunger, working with only basic tools, transportation difficulties, limited communication due to internet outages, and relentless bombardment — they succeeded in creating something extraordinary, sending a powerful message to the world: We are here, and Gaza is still home to brilliant young talents with bold ideas and unyielding will in the face of devastation.