Acts of Resistance: A Festival

Proof of registration, via a QR code on your phone or on paper, will be required to enter Reid Hall. Entry will be refused to those who are not registered. Please note that access will not be permitted 15 minutes after the start of the event.

This event will be held in English.

Organized by the Columbia Global Paris Center and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination.

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Please join us to celebrate the arrival of the 2026 – 2027 Reid Hall Journalist in Residence, Shawkan, a photojournalist from Egypt. The residency period has also been extended for two Palestinian artists, artist Maha Al-Daya and poet Doha Kahlout. The festival will feature an evening of readings and presentations by the residents.

Co-sponsored by the Columbia Global Paris Center and Institute for Ideas and Imagination, the Reid Hall Residencies are designed to support artists and journalists who have had to leave their countries of origin due to extreme circumstances (war, natural disaster, political oppression).

Featured Artists

Shawkan is an Egyptian photojournalist whose career is defined by his commitment to documenting truth through the lens, a dedication that resulted in his unlawful arrest and subsequent five-year imprisonment for covering political protests in Cairo. An internationally recognized figure for press freedom, Shawkan was awarded the prestigious UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in 2018 while still detained, honors from the National Press Club, and the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Maha Al-Daya is a Palestinian artist from Gaza. In addition to her painting and multidisciplinary artistic practice, she is also engaged in the design and embroidery of traditional Palestinian dresses. Her work explores themes of identity, memory, and resilience, often reflecting the socio-political realities of Palestinian life. Over the years, Al-Daya has participated in numerous prestigious art residencies, including the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (2012), appointed by the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem, and the Darat al Funun - Khaled Shoman Foundation Summer Academy with Marwan Kassab Bachi (2001).

Doha Kahlout is a Palestinian poet and teacher of Arabic. She graduated from Al-Azhar University with a BA in Arabic Language and Media Studies. In 2018, Kahlout published her first collection of poetry, Ashbah ("Similarities"), with Dar Tarik Publishing House. She has also contributed to publications of the Qattan Foundation and Dar Tibaq Publishing House. 

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This event will take place in Reid Hall’s Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, built in 1912 and extensively renovated in 2023 thanks to the generous support of Judith Ginsberg and Paul LeClerc.

Reid Hall, the Columbia Global Paris Center, and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination are not responsible for the views and opinions expressed by their speakers and guests.