Curatorial collective Soft Shock, run by Georgie Worth and Júlia Polo, is hosting an artist market fundraiser at SET Social in Peckham on Saturday (May 10) to raise money for Palestinian mutual aid initiative, the Sameer Project. 

The market will run from 2pm to 6pm and will feature handmade, limited-edition ceramics, prints, t-shirts, patches, paintings, zines, photos, scarves, badges, and more. There will also be tarot reading, poetry writing, Bolex camera workshops, clothes painting and home-baked goods. Several up-and-coming artists, such as Alesia Cîdă, Mengwei Chen, Amelia Akiko Frank, and many more, will be selling their works.

The Israeli government is starving the people of Gaza. Earlier this week, the Guardian reported that “food, medicine and critical supplies for the maintenance of human life have all been prevented by Israeli troops from entering the territory for more than two months”. On May 2, Amnesty International issued an urgent notice stating that: “Israel must immediately end its devastating siege on the occupied Gaza Strip, which constitutes a genocidal act, a blatant form of unlawful collective punishment, and the war crime of using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.”

This is why the work of the Sameer Project is so important. They are a rapid-response initiative that facilitates the sourcing and distribution of aid to displaced families all over the Gaza Strip. They provide support in the form of shelter, medication and treatment, food, water, diapers, formula, and more. Their active campaign in partnership with Translating Palestine provides this essential aid to families with specific and urgent needs in north Gaza. 

Soft Shock Fundraiser will be held at SET Social (Peckham), 55 Nigel Road, London SE15 4RN on Saturday, May 10, from 2pm-6pm. Head here for more details.