Arts and Culture Palestine Project #66966

Support ASHTAR's main programmes (core fund)

by ASHTAR for Theatre Productions and Training

Project Report | Jul 7, 2025
"This was the first time I felt safe to speak my mind." Become a monthly supporter of ASHTAR Theatre

By Konrad Suder Chatterjee | Communications Manager and Resource Developer

Dear Supporters,

In the face of continued devastation: daily killings and woundings in Gaza, mass imprisonment and torture across Palestine, systematic infrastructure destruction, increased restrictions on movement and countless hours wasted in traffic, and ever-increasing Israeli Jewish colonial settler violence resulting in 2 Palestinians killed within the last two weeks, ASHTAR Theatre stands firm in its mission to resist, to connect, and co-create space for continuity and future.

With our never ending gratitude for standing with us, we are in haste to let you know what we have managed to achieve since the last report (to name a few!).

We have managed to maintain our staff and continued our core work despite unprecedented financial and political pressures. This has only been possible thanks to your support and solidarity.

Our wonderful Youth Acting School is now at the end of their third year, with preparations underway to rehearse for the end of year performance scheduled in August to embark on their final fourth year of the school. We are now opening admissions for the new cohort starting from September for another four-year training cycle. These young people will become the next generation of Palestinian storytellers and cultural leaders. You can sponsor a year long education of a young student by donating to this campaign with a note: Youth Acting School.

We also launched Nabadat – Heart-Beats, a series of psycho-social theatre workshops and stress-relief activities. These sessions offer safe spaces for communities to process trauma, strengthen resilience, and reconnect through creativity while honing practical tangible acting skills. One of the participants said: "It was more like an inner journey deep into myself… I suddenly felt my voice is not just a tool for speaking, but an extension of everything I feel and a mirror of what’s happening inside me. I left the workshop feeling as light as a butterfly, as if I had shed something heavy or taken a deep breath for the first time in a long while.”

In Amari refugee camp, we concluded a series of psycho-social interventions with vulnerable UNRWA school communities, helping children and teachers develop coping mechanisms in extremely challenging conditions. One of the young school students said: “This was the first time I felt safe to speak my mind.” We are preparing our school-based intervetnions to restart from September 2025.

We remain in close contact with the original Gaza Monologues writers. Many have faced repeated displacement, loss of homes, and unimaginable hardship. We continue to support them with small financial assistance, basic needs, and opportunities to keep their voices alive.

The Gaza Monologues campaign continues to grow. We are now in touch with many new and returning groups reading the texts globally. Notably, the group Te Nel Deserto in Italy recently organised a new series of readings, bringing the total number of countries where the Monologues have been read to 63.

At the same time, with our artistic director Emile Saba, we are developing a new play that explores the complexity and diversity of Palestinian identities - reclaiming our narrative in the face of attempted erasure and fragmentation.

Importantly, this September marks 35 years of ASHTAR’s continued work. As we look ahead, we invite you to become our partner and monthly supporter in making the next collective dream a reality: the renovation of a new building in Birzeit, near Ramallah, which will house a full-time two-year Performing Arts Academy for acting and psycho-social healing. Here we will train a new generation of resilient, creative, and internationally connected theatre makers - rooted in Palestine, reaching the world.

Your continued support makes all of this possible. Thank you for standing with us, for amplifying Palestinian voices, and for believing in theatre as a powerful tool for freedom, healing, and change.

From the bottom of our hearts,
Konrad Suder Chatterjee on behalf of ASHTAR Theatre Team

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Mar 3, 2025
It's hard to decolonise but with your help...

By Konrad Suder Chatterjee | Communications Manager and Resource Developer

As you may well know, since October 2023, the situation in Palestine has deteriorated significantly. The freezing of funds, the withdrawal of major donors, and political restrictions on Palestinian institutions have left many organisations struggling to survive. The cuts to USAID funding and the defunding of UNRWA have further exacerbated an already dire humanitarian catastrophy, impacting schools, mental health services, and cultural initiatives that millions rely on. Despite these immense challenges, ASHTAR Theatre remains steadfast in its mission to use theatre as a tool for resistance, healing, and empowerment.

Thanks to the support of donors like you, we have been able to sustain our work in these extraordinarily difficult times. Over the past quarter, ASHTAR has continued to deliver mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) theatre workshops in UNRWA schools across the West Bank and Jerusalem and other organisations. These sessions help children and teachers process trauma and develop coping mechanisms through creative expression.

Given the funding crisis facing UNRWA, these interventions are more vital than ever, ensuring that children have safe spaces to express themselves and are supported in processing the ongoing violence and instability they endure. ASHTAR has also been working to support the original Gaza Monologues writers, all have been displaced, some forced to evacuate, or some have now returned to their home locations, many with their houses reduced to ashes.These artists, who first wrote their testimonies of war as children, now find themselves reliving the same trauma and facing unimaginable conditions. ASHTAR has provided direct support to them, supporting them in having access to basic necessities, creative opportunities, and small financial assistance. The global advocacy campaign of The Gaza Monologues remains as crucial as ever, with readings in over 62 countries amplifying Palestinian voices and ensuring their experiences are not erased from the global narrative.

Despite financial and operational challenges, progress continues towards launching the two-year accredited Performing Arts Academy in Birzeit by ASHTAR Theatre, in partnership with the Palestinian Circus School. This initiative is key to developing the next generation of Palestinian artists and social workers using arts as a therapy method, equipping them with the skills to use theatre as a means of cultural resistance and community empowerment. The academy will serve as a vital space for artistic growth and international exchange, strengthening the cultural fabric of Palestinian society.

The ongoing funding crisis remains one of the greatest threats to ASHTAR and other Palestinian institutions. The freezing of funds by major Western donors, the cessation of USAID support, and the financial collapse of UNRWA have placed immense strain on organisations that provide essential services to communities under occupation. Although ASHTAR has not been in receipt of the USAID assistance, countless organisations which have been dependent on it are now in competition for very scarce resources with organisations like ASHTAR.

ASHTAR, alongside the Palestinian Performing Arts Network (PPAN), has taken a firm stance against neo-colonial funding models that impose restrictive conditions and undermine Palestinian sovereignty. Instead, ASHTAR is committed to building an ethical, solidarity-driven funding model, relying on individual donors and independent foundations that align with its vision of liberation and cultural empowerment.

The support received through GlobalGiving has been instrumental in keeping psychosocial theatre programmes running in UNRWA refugee schools, providing emergency financial relief for displaced Gaza Monologues writers, and maintaining core operational costs.

However, the need remains urgent. Further funding is required to expand psychosocial theatre interventions, continue financial support for displaced cultural workers in Gaza, and complete renovations for the Performing Arts Academy in Birzeit to ensure its successful launch.

Now, more than ever, ASHTAR depends on the solidarity of its supporters to sustain its mission. We encourage all who stand with Palestinian cultural resistance to continue sharing our campaign, following our work, and amplifying Palestinian voices.

Your continued support ensures that ASHTAR remains a space of hope, resilience, and creative safe home for now and the future.

Thank you for standing with us in these critical times.

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