Once, twice and even three times a month, Palestinians, mainly art, music, comedy, poetry and entertainment lovers, make sure to set their alarms to gather at one of the West Bank’s spacious, welcoming places, where a microphone stand welcomes all sorts of talents thriving to get noticed and listened to. Open Mic Palestine is an occasional performance activity that attracts individuals from the Palestinian community, whether they be locals or international, to cozily get together to watch, support and give out rounds of applause for fellow locals wishing to express themselves through different forms of stage performances. Coming all the way from Poland to settle in Ramallah, Palestine, Konrad Suder Chatterjee, a writer, performer and filmmaker, decided one day to give the Open Mic a chance in Palestine, believing that Palestinians have talents just enough to share with the world. Chatterjee recalls his love for writing as a child, and despite not being allowed to write while he was in school, he felt like he found the group that he most belonged to during Covid, where he was provided a space to explore his passion for writing once again. ‘When I was a child, I wrote poems all the time. Then the school asked me not to write anymore, and so I stopped. However; during Covid, I found a group of writers who wanted to give each other company during the pandemic era. So I joined, only to find out that they organize Open Mic sessions on Fridays to share their creativity,’ he said. ‘The power of connection despite the disconnection due to Covid was unprecedented. I started writing again because I finally found an appreciating audience for my writing. When Covid was over, I started attending Open Mic sessions in London, where I was living, and I observed my own artistic growth and confidence in writing and witnessed many people who were on the journey from shaking from holding a mic to being published as poets and writers.’ The Polish writer speaks proudly about how the Open Mic Palestine started off with one simple show in a local restaurant, leading to 18 shows in several cities in the West Bank, including Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron and Nablus. ‘When I came to Palestine, I heard about some previous venues doing similar things, however, there was nothing current, so I thought I would organize our first meeting at a local restaurant here. We did one event, and it kicked off from there. So far, we’ve done 18 shows in the West Bank,’ he said. ‘Everyone is an audience, from people who’ve never done it and never shared anything or considered themselves as creative individuals. So we’re on a maybe delusional mission to show that everyone is creative, and because of that, we feel connected to each other,’ he said. ‘When talking about a target audience, it’s pretty much anyone that has something to share, and that is pretty much everyone!’ Dalal Radwan, an Open Mic Palestine team member and organizer, spoke on how she started working on the idea, which later found a place in her weekly schedule. ‘It was right from the moment I left a comment on one of Konrad’s Instagram posts, where he was saying something about the Open Mic, and I was like ‘let’s do something together.’ We started from there. Next thing you know, we’re here doing the Open Mic,’ she said. ‘It was his original idea. One of my non-Palestinian friends has been doing an OM in the US so I wanted to see the OM happen in Palestine, and I was very happy that we’re doing it.’ On audiences, Radwan said that everyone is welcome to perform, regardless of whatever labels that may be attached to them. ‘We target everyone! We don’t have a specific criterion for people. This is an open space, we welcome everyone of all ages, all backgrounds, and all languages. Whatever language you speak, we accommodate. That’s why we present the OM in English and Arabic for the most part, so basically, it’s for everyone in Palestine,’ she added. ‘If you’re Palestinian or non-Palestinian, if you love to enjoy art, music, or any form of expression, the OM is your place. It’s your spot!’ Radwan happily expressed her joy in people’s reactions to the show, stressing that being a team member is something that she loves to do. ‘I think people have been very supportive and showing up since we started. The fact that we’ve hosted 18 shows so far means that people are really enjoying it. We get people asking us about the next date, and I think people need that to express themselves and enjoy all forms of creativity and talents, and this is something that we love to do, and people love it, too,’ she said. Challenges may be faced, but according to Radwan, things are so far, so good. ‘We just keep in mind that the space we’re hosting the event at is spacious and close, within walking distance, but in general, so far, we’ve been managing things. Sometimes, it’s challenging to fit everyone in one show, because there are times we’re limited by a certain time. Fitting all people in one show and accommodating all the talent is what we keep in mind,’ she concluded. The show is frequently attended by local and international audiences, who get to enjoy seeing performers present their poetry, music, songwriting skills, stand-up comedy, spoken word, and basically whatever talent they want to share with others. ‘The Open Mic is an opportunity to express feelings. I sing to do what I love, and the OM is a place to do the things that you love,’ Khaled Yahya, a singer, who performs occasionally at the show. ‘I think we need more events like this in Palestine. There are a lot of hidden talents in Palestine that not a lot of people know of,’ Jahed Bouthnaq, an audience member, said after attending a show. ‘The Palestinian community lacks activities like this. It’s either you have a talent as a kid, or you don’t, but a lot of people grow up having their own talents that they can’t share because there isn’t a space for them to do so.’ Open Mic Palestine also attracts foreigners, expats, and tourists visiting Palestine as well. Edwin Mosquera, a Colombian tourist in Palestine, thought it was interesting to attend a show, and now considers sharing a talent of his soon. ‘It’s my first time to attend the OM and I think it’s interesting, so I believe I like this activity. I hope to attend it again. Next time, I’m probably going to share something because I was about to share some story, but I don’t know, I just wasn’t in the mood, so next time.’ Alice Yousef, a writer and frequent performer who usually reads out her poetry to the audience, thinks the Palestinian community needs more activities like the Open Mic Palestine as it gives people a space to express themselves. ‘I really like the Open Mic because it provides people with a space to share their opinions and their works and be themselves with a mic and an audience. A lot of people don’t have the space to perform their work across a platform that really encourages them to be themselves,’ she said. ‘I think the Palestinian community needs more activities like the OM. If you look at it, there aren’t many spaces that are out of the ordinary that provide a space for people to express themselves. We as Palestinians have great arts like Dabke and a lot of traditional things, but if you’re not a part of the OM, and you’re an artist, where do you start OM is a space for artists to grow and start somewhere,’ she said.

Source: Palestine News & Information Agency