Nestled within the walls of the Red Zone Gallery, set to open this Saturday following a visit by Lusa last week, are portraits, phrases, and graphic compositions prominently featuring the colors of the Palestinian flag—black, green, red, and white. Symbols of Palestinian resistance, such as the Palestinian flag, the keffiyeh scarf, the watermelon, and the white dove representing peace, are recurrent themes in numerous paintings.
The project involves artists such as Vhils, Bordalo II, Akacorleone, Tamara Alves, c’marie, Gonçalo Mar, the duo Halfstudio, Miguel Januário (±), Jaime Ferraz, Jorge Charrua, Rita Ravasco, Sepher AWK, Mafalda MG, and António Alves.
The inception of this temporary gallery stemmed from a mural by João Pereira, known as Bugster, who guided Lusa through the space.
The initiative began from a desire to paint a mural addressing the issues in Gaza, aimed at “capturing people’s attention.”
Intending to create it outdoors but unable to find a wall of the required size, João Pereira opted to create it within a building he already knew, where the Red Zone Gallery eventually emerged, allowing him to work “with some tranquility.”
The location, primarily known and visited by local youth and members of the graffiti community, allowed Pereira to work for three uninterrupted days.
Upon completion, he engaged three teenagers present at the site to gather feedback on the mural’s impact and their perceptions.
Inspired by this dialogue, Pereira shared the concept with close artists, describing what he had achieved, the available space, and the opportunity for collaborative contributions.
He photographed every available wall—though interventions also appear on beams, columns, and even the floor—and allocated spaces, numbering them for reservation.
As one day proved insufficient to accommodate all the work, a series of meetings ensued. Artists invited others, rapidly attributing the spaces.
In recent weeks, over 50 artists have contributed at varying paces and days, culminating in a space “conveying a message more potent than all individual pieces and artworks.”
The building hosting the gallery, abandoned for at least two decades, is described as “a place destroyed and being destroyed,” reminiscent of the global attention sought akin to an exhibition in Gaza.
“We took this room as if attempting an exhibition in Gaza. How could we achieve that? Perhaps in a similar place, under a more optimistic scenario,” stated João Pereira.
The Red Zone Gallery strives to be “a place of conversation, of dialogue,” emphasizing the creation of elements to spark discussions.
At the gallery’s entrance, atop stairs, visitors are greeted with an explanatory text and a drawing of a Palestinian child inspired by Gaza, serving as an introduction.
On the inauguration day, between 14:00 and 19:00, discussions are scheduled on topics like “the power of artistic expression in raising awareness for the Palestinian cause” and “media coverage of the Palestinian genocide, the effect of journalist deaths, and public opinion formation,” featuring artists from various fields, journalists, and representatives from organizations like Doctors Without Borders, Parents for Peace, and MPPM—the Portuguese Movement for Palestinian rights and Middle East Peace.
The Saturday program also includes a collective listening to a podcast from the independent media project Fumaça, performances, and artist-led tours.
After sunset, musical performances will ensue at another venue—the Fernando Augusto Cultural Space, also in Póvoa de Santa Iria.
Beginning at 20:00, performances will feature singers Jüra and Cristina Clara, rappers Buda XL, Riça, Tilt, and Maze, and producer Spock, among others.
When Lusa visited the Red Zone Gallery, two artists were working, including Palestinian Dima Abu Sbeitan, a founder of the educational initiative Seeds of Hope, aimed at supporting children in Gaza.
Dima, born in Jordan, raised in Oman, and who spent thirteen years in the United States before relocating to Lisbon, Portugal, three years ago, has her work at the Red Zone Gallery divided into three parts. One part depicts the ‘red zone’ of Gaza, “an area ready to be bombed and massacred at the push of a button.” Another honors the press, “journalists killed for showing stories and speaking the truth,” while the third features messages from Gaza.
Maintaining contact with Palestinians in Gaza, Dima encountered phrases like, “I want to wake up happy,” shared by a ten-year-old, “I wish I could love who I want,” “I would like to travel,” and “I want to eat whatever I wish.”
Dima aspires to “see justice prevail, Israel held accountable before international laws, and laws enforced.”
“Gaza needs the genocide to stop. Gaza requires international community intervention to side with International Law. Gaza needs people to speak out, have justice prevail, and the right to live like anyone else in this world. Gaza needs freedom, health, food,” she told Lusa.
Dima hopes, prays, and wishes for the genocide to end soon but reminds that until it does, the population “is dying in front of everyone’s eyes,” and “each day becomes progressively worse.”
The Israeli military has been conducting an offensive in the Gaza Strip since the Palestinian extremist group Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
The Israeli offensive, labeled as genocide by an independent UN commission and an increasing number of countries and international organizations, has resulted in over 65,500 deaths in the Gaza Strip, the destruction of almost all Gaza’s infrastructure, and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
Israel has also imposed a blockade on humanitarian aid delivery to the enclave, where over 400 people, mostly children, have already died from hunger and malnutrition.
João Pereira asserts that every additional day the Red Zone Gallery remains operational post-Saturday’s inauguration “is a victory for the project.”
The Red Zone Gallery’s location is shared via word of mouth, “through those already involved in the project.”
