Palestinian artist Naji Nasr is putting the final touches on his latest painting, ‘Abu Ammar’, the nom de guerre of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who passed away on November 11, 2004.
Nasr, a well-known Palestinian artist, who has over 4,000 works of art to his name, plans to reveal his piece on the 17th anniversary of Arafat’s death.
The former president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) died in a Paris hospital after falling ill with a mysterious illness. It is widely believed that Arafat’s death was not natural and that he was poisoned by Israel with the help of Palestinians within Arafat’s own circles. (HYPERLINK)
Despite his death, 17 years ago, Arafat’s legacy remains present throughout Palestine, especially within his Fatah movement, which has been largely weakened as a result of internal disputes and the governing style of current PA President, Mahmoud Abbas.
Nasr told The Palestine Chronicle that “there are more than 400 Palestinian artists in the Gaza Strip who specialized in charcoal art along with other non-traditional forms of painting.”
“To excel in this field, one has to be unique, creative, and truly love art.”
Nasr has won the Palestine Charcoal Art Award in 2017 and came third in the overall Middle East artistic scene.
(All Photos: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
– Mahmoud Ajjour is a Gaza-based photojournalist. He is the Palestine Chronicle’s correspondent in the Gaza Strip.
