The Palestine trip was great, one of those life changing experiences that will stay...- we met lots of lovely people (who bent over backwards to feed us and fill us with coffee,)- good connections were made for future projects and we were thrilled at the participation in the Scratch the Sky project by the young people we met.
The intention behind the 'Scratch the Sky' Palestinian trip in June was to gather stories that we could bring back with us in order to express something of life for the people in the of the West Bank. We worked with 40 young people aged 7- 17 exploring their hopes and dreams, their likes and dislikes, and the things that were stepping stones or obstacles to allowing their dreams to fly. The outcome for us was a very moving body of work as the participants expressed themselves via images, and writing on the symbolic kites that they created. The complexities and restrictions of life under occupation alongside the ordinary joys of eating ice-cream or playing football become all the more poignant when depicted through a child's eyes.
The week culminated in an exhibition of the kites in the Town Hall of Biet Sahour, (a small town outside Bethlehem) where we were able to perform some of the songs from the Scratch the Sky album.The kites made by the Palestinian young people are currently on display at the Gate Arts Centre, alongside kites made by members of the local community surrounding the centre in Roath, Cardiff. All feature as part of the Exhibition surrounding the Official Launch of Sir Silence and the Hush
Scratch The Sky CD on the 28th of July.
