Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project, Downtown Olympia WA
The Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project is an inter-disciplinary, interactive, multi-site public art project centered around the theme of building solidarity between people on a global scale. Inspired by the life of Rachel Corrie, the mural is a memorial to her and the many hundreds of thousands of other lives lost in the quest for justice. The project in part carries out her dream of building a sister city relationship between Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine, where she was killed in 2003, and Olympia, Washington, USA, where she was born and raised. 23 year old Rachel was committing and act of civil disobedience, trying to protect the home and family of a Palestinian doctor, when she was crushed to death by 9 foot bulldozer.
The project uses culture and technology in innovative ways to build community and to organize for social change. Each image in the tree will have audio files accessible by cell phone introducing themselves and explaining their leaf. There may also be music or a poem, etc to give a cultural flavor to the image and its authors.
Project News
The Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project-Save the Dates:
- 4/17 Fundraiser, The Mural Get Down- to get it done.
- 5/8 The Mural Speaks- Dedication and Celebration
April 17th, 7-11pm, The Mural Get Down…to get it done!! at The Cherry Loft
The Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural Project is hosting a benefit show featuring an eclectic mix of Olympia’s local musical talent; with PRESS, Night Fox, AFROCK, Weird TV, Razz M’tazz, Shark Pact and DJ Goonie. The night will also be filled with spoken word, a raffle, art auction, poetry and more!
May 8th, 7:30 pm, THE MURAL SPEAKS!
The Mural Speaks! We look forward to this event being a bridging of communities, with live music and performances by members of organizations throughout Olympia. We will shine the spotlight on each leaf while representatives make a presentation of their choice. This event will be a celebration and finale to the People’s Assembly, a day of workshops and activities focused on community organizing and local activism.
