Anti-Colonial Imaginaries and the Cultural Dimension of the Palestine Solidarity Movement: The Case of Tunisia

Since the inception of the ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, Palestine has emerged once again as a powerful catalyser of global and intersectional demands for social justice and emancipation from the Western-dominated neoliberal order (MERIP 309, 2023). The forms in which this global wave of solidarity for Palestine is expressed today are confirming the crucial role of culture and representation in the political and ideological battlefield. Tunisian artists and activists have been participating in this wave by deploying globally-shared innovative political and aesthetic practices, as well as by drawing from local, regional, and international long-standing traditions of resistant culture. In spite of current threats to civil and political rights, pro-Palestine aesthetic practices in Tunisia have proved viable means for mobilizing people, re-articulating identities, reclaiming public space, and urging for self-representation against debasing and stereotyped narratives (especially regarding Muslim and Arab women). Based on field research conducted during the first five months of the Israeli offensive in Gaza, the paper provides an overview and discussion of artistic production, aesthetic practices, and cultural events carried out by Tunisian artists and activists in solidarity with Palestine. Examples include graffiti, concerts, film screenings, as well as the targeting and boycott of cultural institutions and festivals organized or sponsored by Western countries. In fact, Western cultural and aesthetic hegemony is contested along with military, political and economic domination. In particular, the contribution wishes to shed light on the re-deployment and re-elaboration of a “symbolic repertoire of resistance” (Tripp 2013) stemming from an anti-colonial and “third-worldist” discourse and aesthetics in which Palestine liberation has historically been a major concern (Haugbolle and Elling 2024).