Music as Resistance: An Introduction to Palestinian Singing and Culture, by Reem Kelani

Thursday, 6th of February 2025, 3:30pm-5:00pm

Waterhouse Block J, 1st Floor Large Seminar Room

Palestinian musician Reem Kelani has performed in festivals from Seattle to Shanghai and Syria. She has also pioneered the introduction of Arabic music in schools and with choirs across the United Kingdom. In her forthcoming workshop for the PSCC Critical Thought and Practice Seminar Series, Reem will touch on the principles of Arabic music and rhythm, as well as provide an overview of the vital role played by music and creative expression in Palestine’s resistance against occupation and struggle for liberation. Reem is a singer, musician, broadcaster, translator and educator. Described by some as the unofficial ambassador for the culture and music of Palestine, she was born in Manchester and spent her formative years in Kuwait, where she was exposed to numerous styles of music from the Gulf, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, India, and East Africa. Reem started performing in public at the age of four, and it was a wedding in her maternal hometown of Nazareth she attended at the age of nine that is the seminal moment that focused her attention on collective Palestinian traditions. With the album “Sprinting Gazelle – Palestinian Songs from the Motherland and the Diaspora” officially recommended as part of the UK school curriculum, Reem has shown how her art transcends cultural boundaries and appeals as much to a non-Arab as an Arab audience. Come and enjoy this most inspirational of performers. All are welcome.

Part of the Seminar Series “Critical Theory, Critical Practice” organised by the Power, Space, and Cultural Change Cluster, Department of Geography and Planning.