NEW BEDFORD — Two New Bedford artists hope their latest mural on the free art wall at Wings Court will cut through the politics of the current Israeli-Hamas war and remind passersby that “humanity” is the thing to strive for.
The mural, finished on Friday, was created by local street artists David Guadalupe and Brian Tillott, and features an Israeli child and Palestinian child holding hands.
Aside from art serving as a form of personal “therapy,” Guadalupe — former co-owner of the now-closed U.G.L.Y. Gallery in New Bedford — said he and Tillett wanted to promote a unifying message that would “bring some nuance” to the area where an existing, pro-Palestinian mural appeared on the wall sometime last week. The message on that mural has been classified by the Anti-Defamation League as anti-Semitic.
“We needed to promote a message of hope and peace,” he said. “It’s really about coming to some type of homeostasis, some type of understanding.”
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With the deep historical complexities involved in the tumultuous relationship between Israel and Palestine, Guadalupe said, “You’ve really got to take a lot of factors into consideration if you’re going to side with one or the other.
“I don’t have any real skin in the game other than humanity.”
Background
The current fighting in Israel and Palestine began in early October, when Hamas militants from Palestine fired rockets into and invaded Israel; followed by Israeli military response and declaration of war against Hamas.
The tensions date back to decades before the first Arab-Israeli War in 1948, which began soon after Israel was declared its own nation. Points of contention between Israel and Palestine include disputes over borders, competing religious claims over “Holy Land” sites, and Palestinian refugee rights to return to Israel, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Get some context:Israel-Hamas war stirs free-speech battles at college campuses across US
Saturday event to feature Guadalupe, Tillett and other street artists
On Saturday, Oct. 28, Guadalupe, Tillett and a number of other local artists will be at the Kilburn Mill, 127 W. Rodney French Blvd. in New Bedford, 12 p.m. to 2p.m., for the release of the book “On the Wall Posters: Street Art.”
The book, put together by Superflat NB, will feature removable posters of street murals from around New Bedford.
The artists will be there to chat with the public and sign copies of the book, which will be available for purchase.
To learn more about “On the Wall Posters: Street Art” or Superflat NB, visit superflatnb.org.