by husamkalotiFreedom and Oppression
The First Youth Photography Exhibition at The Freedom Theatre
On 6 June 2008, The Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp, Palestine, opened its first photography exhibition created by children and youth from the camp. Titled Freedom and Oppression, the exhibition marked a significant moment in the theatre’s early commitment to youth-led artistic expression as a form of cultural resistance and civic engagement.
Developed through an intensive artistic process, the exhibition emerged from a collective journey in which young participants explored the meaning of freedom within their lived reality, while critically documenting the structures of oppression shaping Palestinian daily life, at home, within the community, and across the wider national landscape.
Moving beyond the boundaries of the refugee camp, the young photographers crossed checkpoints and roadblocks, travelling through the West Bank to Bethlehem. For many, it was their first journey outside Jenin and their first direct encounter with the Separation Wall, an experience that profoundly shaped both their visual language and political awareness.
The resulting body of work reflects a layered exploration of freedom:
the freedom of movement, choice, and play;
freedom from discrimination, poverty, and racism;
and, most fundamentally, the freedom to live with dignity, without violence, without oppression, and without occupation.
Through this exhibition, The Freedom Theatre positioned photography as a pedagogical and political tool, enabling children and youth to articulate their reality on their own terms and to engage local and international audiences through an uncompromising visual narrative. Freedom and Oppression stands as an early example of the theatre’s long-standing practice of embedding the arts within community empowerment, youth development, and nonviolent cultural resistance.
Exhibition Opening
📅 6 June 2008
⏰ 17:00
📍 The Freedom Theatre, Jenin Refugee Camp – Occupied Palestine
For further information and archival inquiries:
📞 04 2503345
📧 info@thefreedomtheatre.org
