I Witness Silwan: 2026 Student Project

Authors

• Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies-Winona State University

Abstract

At Winona State University in WGSS 220: Intersections of Power and Privilege (Dr. Klinker), we have explored the social construction of differences at the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and nation to maintain systems of power and privilege. We also explore the importance of activism and social movements as mechanisms of resistance. We have connected the current state violence from the Minneapolis ICE occupation to the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine, and how the ICE occupation of Minneapolis and Minnesota is only possible because of the US settler colonial context.

The eyes that have brought you this statement are based on the work of I Witness Silwan, a Palestinian-led organization of muralists and community members who use art as anti-colonial action. As they state of the I Witness Silwan mural project:

Look Palestinians in the Eye* is a grassroots campaign that utilizes cultural interventions, direct action, and political education. It mobilizes artists, organizers, faith-based communities, and people of conscience to confront U.S. complicity in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. The campaign connects the fight for justice in Palestine to global movements for justice through interventions, direct action, and political education. Our campaign is strategically aligned with global struggles against settler colonialism and state violence through our deep roots in Palestine and resistance movements. *Mohammed El-Kurd, 2025

Document Type

Document

Publication Date

4-30-2026

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies

Location

Winona State University Gazebo, Winona, Minnesota; United States

Keywords

Winona State University Gazebo; Palestine; Solidarity; Painting; Student Creative Works; United States; Silwan; Arts

Rights Statement

All rights reserved by the creators.

Recommended Citation

Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies-Winona State University, "I Witness Silwan: 2026 Student Project" (2026). Feminist & Queer Praxis. 21.
https://openriver.winona.edu/feministqueerpraxis/21

Unique Identifier

WSUWGSS-2026-Introducation-IWitnessSilwan