Faisal Saleh Speech at the Opening Ceremony of
From Palestine With Art,
at Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma
English Version (Arabic and Italian follows)
Good evening and welcome everyone
I decided to read these few words in Italian as a form of respect for the Italian culture and art and as a thank you to you who are here today.
I speak Italian also because if I spoke in English I would be overcome with emotion.
I am here, in this place, the very center of international art, on this truly special occasion and I would like to thank those who made it possible, our guests, the President Giuseppe Soriero and the Director Cecilia Casorati of the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome.
I am Faisal Saleh and I am Palestinian, my family lived in Salameh, a village five kilometers from the city of Yafa and we became refugees in nineteen forty-eight. I was born in a room where thirteen people lived all together; I was the eleventh child.
Just like many Palestinians, I was able to overcome the odds and rise to the top of the Western business world.
My story is not the only one but it is similar to that of thousands of Palestinians.
Today we celebrate and show the excellence of Palestinian art despite attempts to silence it. Our artists are ambassadors to the people of the world. Their mission is to tell our story to the world through art.
Our story is simple yet complex at the same time.
I could tell you about the exhibition but our art speaks for itself.
I would like to express my gratitude to the Academy for giving us the opportunity to tell our story to the world at a time when freedom of speech, academic and art activities are limited and denied to Palestinians.
In particular I would like to thank the director Casorati for her artistic touch in arranging the exhibition and for her creative approach.
Of course we thank the Palestinian artists for the works we exhibit here, for their optimism and the vivid colors with which they have expressed it, as we look to the future and dream of the moment when Palestine will be free from river to sea.
And now I would like to ask Esther Marconi, whose role was fundamental in organizing this exhibition, to come here and add a few words.
Arabic Version (Italian Below)
أنا أتحدث بالإيطالية أيضًا لأنني إذا تحدثت باللغة الإنجليزية فسوف تغمرني العاطفة.
أنا هنا، في هذا المكان، مركز الفن الدولي، في هذه المناسبة الخاصة حقًا أود أن أشكر أولئك الذين جعلوها ممكنة، ضيوفنا: الرئيس جوزيبي سورييرو والمديرة سيسيليا كاسوراتي من أكاديمية الفنون الجميلة في روما.
أنا فيصل صالح وأنا فلسطيني، عاشت أسرتي في قرية سلمة، وهي قرية تبعد خمسة كيلومترات عن مدينة يافا وأصبحنا لاجئين في عام 1948. لقد ولدت في غرفة صغيرة وعاش فيها ثلاثة عشر شخصا، كنت أنا الطفل الحادي عشر من بينهم. تمامًا مثل كثيرا من الفلسطينيين، تمكنت من التغلب على الصعاب والوصول إلى قمة عالم الأعمال الغربي. قصتي ليست الوحيدة لكنها تشبه حكاية آلاف الفلسطينيين.
نحتفل اليوم بابداع الفن الفلسطيني ونعرضه رغم محاولات إسكاته. فنانينا هم سفرائنا لشعوب العالم. مهمتهم سرد قصتنا للعالم من خلال الفن. قصتنا بسيطة ولكنها معقدة في نفس الوقت.
يمكنني أن أخبركم عن المعرض ولكن من المؤكد أن فننا يتحدث عن نفسه.
أود أن أعرب عن امتناني للأكاديمية لمنحنا الفرصة لرواية قصتنا للعالم في وقت تكون فيه حرية الكلام والحرية الأكاديمية والفنية محدودة و محرمة على الفلسطينيين. أود أن أشكر على وجه الخصوص المديرة كاسوراتي على لمستها الفنية في تنظيم المعرض وعلى نهجها الإبداعي. بالطبع نشكر الفنانين الفلسطينيين على الأعمال التي نعرضها هنا، على تفاؤلهم والألوان الزاهية التي عبروا عنها ونحن نتطلع إلى المستقبل ونحلم باللحظة التي ستكون فيها فلسطين حرة من النهر إلى البحر.
وأخيرًا أود أن أشكر إستر ماركوني، التي كان دورها رئيسياً في تنظيم هذا المعرض.
Italian Version.
Buonasera e benvenuti a tutti
Ho deciso di leggere queste poche parole in italiano come forma di rispetto per la Cultura e l’Arte italiane e come ringraziamento a Voi che oggi siete qui presenti.
Parlo italiano anche perche' se parlassi in inglese sarei sopraffatto dall’emozione.
Sono qui, in questo luogo, centro dell’Arte internazionale, in questa occasione veramente speciale e desidero ringraziare coloro che l’hanno resa possibile, i nostri ospiti il Presidente Giuseppe Soriero e la Direttrice Cecilia Casorati dell Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma.
Io sono Faisal Saleh e sono palestinese, la mia famiglia abitava a Salameh, un villaggio a cinque Km dalla città di Yafa e siamo diventati profughi nel mille novecento quarantotto. Sono nato in una stanza dove vivevamo in tredici, io ero l’undicesimo figlio.
Proprio come molti Palestinesi, sono stato in grado di superare le difficolta e di raggiungere i vertici del mondo economico occidentale.
La mia storia non e’ l’unica ma e’ simile a quella di migliaia di Palestinesi.
Oggi noi celebriamo ed esponiamo l’eccellenza dell’arte palestinese nonostante il tentativo di metterla a tacere. I nostri artisti sono ambasciatori verso le persone del mondo. La loro missione e’ quella di raccontare la nostra storia al mondo attraverso l’arte.
La nostra storia e’ semplice ma complessa allo stesso tempo.
Potrei parlarvi della mostra ma la nostra arte parla per se’
Vorrei esprimere la mia gratitudine all’Accademia per averci dato l’opportunità di raccontare al mondo la nostra storia in un momento in cui le libertà di parola, accademiche e artistiche sono limitate e negate ai Palestinesi.
In particolare vorrei ringraziare la direttrice Casorati per il suo tocco artistico nel curare la mostra e per il suo approccio creativo.
Naturalmente noi ringraziamo gli artisti palestinesi per i lavori che esponiamo qui, per il loro ottimismo e i colori vivaci con i quali lo hanno espresso mentre guardiamo al futuro e sogniamo il momento in cui la Palestina sarà libera dal fiume al mare.
E ora vorrei chiedere a Esther Marconi, il cui ruolo e’ stato fondamentale nell’organizzazione di questa mostra, di venire qui e aggiungere qualche parola.