(Impressions from Kim, Mohammed, Iyad, Darine, and Viola)
Gaza Travel Agency setup at “A day in Palestine” event in Tolhuistuin. Photo credit: Darine Samander Eweis
The second time of the Gaza Travel Agency
Kim: After our debut in the Dutch Design Week, this was the first time that we ‘travelled’ with the Gaza Travel Agency. We moved to Amsterdam to set the Agency up at the Tolhuistuin as part of the ‘A day in Palestine’ event.
We had three posters, a canvas map with an explanatory text, the GTA flag and some posters, postcards and stickers to sell. The most important assets of the Travel Agency however were of course the stewards – all of us wearing the beautiful scarfs of Mary Ann.
Iyad: I arrived directly from the airport and was a bit distracted; however, jumped right into it once settling in. It was great to collaborate with fellow stewards that I worked with before.
Darine: Having the second edition of the GTA in a space that was dedicated to Palestinian artists, designs, food and merchandise, had a very right and good feeling. I felt that the GTA completed the ambience of A Day in Palestine at the Tolhuistuin.
Visitors at the Gaza Travel Agency. Photo credit: Darine Samander Eweis
The Visitors
Kim: The visitors were of course all pro-Palestinians, but even then many were surprised by the facts, and by our storytelling.
Viola: Although this time the public was highly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, the right of return seemed to be perceived also in this context as a remote topic, met with surprise but often also with gratitude, like for being reminded of an old promise that everyone had forgotten about.
Darine: People gave us great feedback, many were emotional and also wanted to know what we were going to do next, who else we are collaborating with in the Netherlands to take this initiative further.
Viola: An elderly couple of visitors told us they were in Palestine to help with the elections for the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in 1994. After that, they summarize, things only got worse and worse; our initiative “helps push back against a mounting political depression”.
Some younger girls were impressed with the beautiful images used. A young woman originally from Nazareth, visiting with her eight-year-old niece, was moved and hoped to be able to go back together with her one day. Beauty, hope, optimism were words used by many visitors to describe the exhibition.
A steward and visitor engaging at the Gaza Travel Agency. Photo credit: Darine Samander Eweis
Why GTA, why now?
Viola: Again, like in Eindhoven, some also found the topic too far from current political agendas: a beautiful idea, but how do we make it happen? The answer is clearly beyond our reach, but we are trying to work on the preconditions — imagining change as a prerequisite for actual change to occur. Return as a precondition for justice and peaceful coexistence.
One of the last groups of visitors I met — two women and a young man — was intrigued by the style of the imagery. They mention the recent work of scholar-performer Donatella Della Ratta, who has referred to the AI-generated visions of the new Gaza Riviera and the third Jerusalem Temple as ‘speculative violence’. “Your work is exactly the opposite of that!” says one of the women. Our speculative-design approach is indeed built on very different ‘training data’; it aims precisely to include missing perspectives, rediscover pieces of history that can enable alternative versions, and reactivate the imagination needed to consider other options — and hopefully other futures.