flying kites for gaza
ruimteCAESUUR Middelburg
Blvd. Evertsen De VASIM Slipvallen I.P.S.
Vlissingen Nijmegen StockholmSE BeiruthLB
. .1 . always someone's parent, always someone's child . . .
Front cover: flying the kites for the first time Saturday, October 20, 2018 Vlissingen | Blvd Evertsen / the beach 2
flying kites for gaza 2018 - 2026
The first European image of a diamond-shaped kite, MiddelburgNL, Abdijplein | 1618 In: Kites, David Pelham, 1977 [ Dutch version ], ISBN 90 6210 067 8 3
Content Foreword to the 2026 re-instalment of the kite-flying initiative in Beirut
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Invitation letter to the artist
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Making the kites with Giel and Willy
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the part with / in ruimteCAESUUR Flying the kites on Saturday, October 20, 2018 Vlissingen | Blvd Evertsen / the beach
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Exhibition on the beach in Vlissingen on Saturday, October 20, 2018
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Exhibition in ruimteCAESUUR October 20 until November 15, 2018
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the autonomous part Flying the kites at De Vasim | Nijmegen on Sunday, November 2018
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Exhibition at the Institute for Palestine Studies, Beirut | Lebanon | 2022
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Exhibition at Slipvallen | Stockholm | Sweden | 2022
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DISTANT SUFFERING LXVIII | i.d. of a parallel kite
about the self-destructive bullet
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Flying the kites at the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS), Beirut, Lebanon | Vlissingen on October xx, 2026 page 64 Exhibition at the Institute for Palestine Studies, Beirut, Lebanon on October 2026
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reactions Attention from two different angles
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www.hansovervliet.com | curiositas@zeelandnet.nl www.caesuur.nu | caesuur@zeelandnet.nl 4
Foreword to the 2026 re-instalment of the kite-flying initiative in Beirut. In September 2026, the Zionazi Israel Katz—the Israeli minister overseeing the apartheid state's occupation forces—declared that flying kites in the Gaza Strip is considered a military action and would be met with a deadly response. Kite-flying has a long tradition in Gaza; back in 2011, thousands of children there set a Guinness World Record by simultaneously flying kites from the beach. That event was one of the inspirations for my kite project in 2018. Because for the children in Gaza’s refugee camps, making and flying kites (crafted from plastic bags and scraps of wood) is one of the few forms of distraction and a way to process trauma. Following the fascistic statement of Katz, Safaa Ashour, Art Coordinator of the Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) in Beirut, Lebanon, contacted me: I am writing regarding your artwork Distant Suffering (2018) in the IPS, Beyrouth collection. I remember being present at the Salute to Prisoners of Freedom exhibit in the April of 2022 and being stunned by it. Powerful yet delivered tenderly. In light of the recent news emerging from Gaza where threats from the Israeli occupation forces have forced parents to prevent their children from flying kites; the work has acquired an even more urgent and devastating relevance. There is a profound absurdity in turning a kite, one of childhood’s simplest expressions of play and freedom, into a military threat. It is yet another instance in which Palestinian childhood itself is restricted, surveyed, and weaponized. That all being expressed, we would like to consider reinstalling the work either at IPS or at another arts and cultural institution in Beyrouth also and presenting it in relation to this current context. I answered ‘yes’ immediately and wholeheartedly and gave Safaa free rein to work out her interpretations of the re-instalment. She came up with two ambitions: to invite Lebanese artists to create their kites for the project, and then to fly all the kites before exhibiting them. Both ideas moved and inspired me enormously: what if, at the very moment Safaa and “her” artists were flying their kites on a beach in Beirut, I simultaneously flew a kite of my own - created specifically for this occasion - on Boulevard Evertsen in Vlissingen, where the first public presentation of kite project had begun in 2018? The gesture would connect Beirut and the original site through a shared moment of flight, distance, and moveent. On October xx, 2026, this idea and connection became a reality . . . Middelburg, 14 September 2026 5
Colophon Participating artists: from Pakistan Mehreen Hashmi; from Gaza / Palestine Mohammed alHawajri, Dina Mattar and Raed Issa; from Germany / Danmark Jörn Burmester; From Belgium jen gossé, Frie J. Jacobs and Jan Verhaeghen; From the Netherlands Leni van den Berge, Ko de Jonge, Dani Ploeger, leon riekwell, Loek Grootjans, Ingrid Rollema, Hans Overvliet, Stef Fridael, Robin Weijers, Harriët Rademakers and Rinus Roepman; Kite expert | Michiel van Amerongen. teamCAESUUR | Middelburg [ www.caesuur.nu ]: Willy van Houtum, Giel Louws and Dani Ploeger. Photo’s Vlissingen Leni van den Berge, Toon Truyens, Paul de Ruiter, Giel Louws, Ko de Jonge, Hans Overvliet, Loek Grootjans, Dirk Van der Wal, Jack van Aspert(† 2019), Alex Soplantila, leon riekwell. Nijmegen | De VASIM Thanks to Jac.Splinter, Willy van Houtum, Loek Overvliet, Hans Gloudemans, the city poet of Nijmegen Amal Karam; Photo’s Marten en Hans Overvliet, Gerard Verschooten. Beirut | Lebanon | Institute for Palestine Studies Thanks to Sebastian Bemburg, Rana Anani, Suzanne Groothuis Postiljon d’amour | Ingid Rollema who brought the kites to Beirut Re-instalment 2026 | Safaa Ashour. Art Initiative Slipvillan | Långholmen | Stockholm | Sweden Thanks to Rikard Fåhraeus, Mashoud Shasavari, Laetitia Deschamps, Jannike Brattås. Catalogue Hans Overvliet. 6
Invitation letter Dear colleague artist, In 2011, thousands of children in Gaza improved the Guinness Record Kite (kite flying record) that they themselves had established in 2009. 7,202 Children and as many pilots & kites participated in this event, organized by UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee organization of the United Nations (U.N.). In 2018, people in Gaza used kite flying as a cheerful political statement of protest, occasionally alternating with an attempt of actual resistance to underscore the 70-years remembering of the Nakba - the Disaster. The term Al-Nakba refers to the 1948 war with Israel. A war with the current disastrous consequences for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. With their protests, the Palestinians support their demand for returning to their villages and cities. A requirement, incidentally, that is recognized by numerous internationally recognized organizations, including the U.N. As said: sometimes kites are used as a weapon of resistance. This is regarded by one of the best armed countries in the world - including possessing the nuclear weapon - as an existential danger: kite terrorism. A concept that is lustfully propagated by corporate media all over the world. Israeli drones apparently cannot control the pilots & these kites, so the Israeli parliament called on the army in order, by sharpshooters, to shoot children who are playing with kites. As you may know, since December 2012 I have been working on a work in progress DISTANT SUFFERING. In this context, combined with the new direction of ruimte(space)CAESUUR, I propose a collaborative project with a number of artists. I want to create an exhibition consisting of kites, made by some 20 colleague artists who have expressed a critical attitude towards social developments in the past and / or identified themselves with my work. The exhibition has two moments: the kites are air born on Saturday, October 20 at 4 o'clock in Vlissingen during a heavenly vernissage, whether by the artists themselves or our friends, and subsequently shown in ruimteCAESUUR. Afterwards, the exhibition might find accommodation elsewhere with the help of the invited artists. 7
When I get a positive answer from you, I will send you a sheet of paper
Hereby I ask you if you want to participate in my project. My question is to work your art on that sheet op Japanese paper in your own way. In my studio I assemble your work into a final kite. Last but not least. As a homo technologus, I try to act as the perfect organizer of this project. However, since the wind plays a decisive role, some uncertainty remains. So also, the (slight) chance that one of the pilots crashes on their first flight or that there is so little wind that the kites do not want to fly. As a homo ludens you should take that risk for granted. I am still thinking about the title. I invite all invited participants to this exhibition to come up with suggestions for a correct one. I am very curious about your answer. with warm regards Hans Overvliet
making the kites 8
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Vlissingen | Boulevard Evertsen 1 October 20, 2018 12
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The kites on the beach of Vlissingen Boulevard Evertsen 1 | Pier 7 20
Stef Fridael
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leon riekwell
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Mohammed alHawajri
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Dina Mattar
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Raed Issa
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Jörn Burmester
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jen gossé
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Jan Verhaeghen
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Frie J. Jacobs
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Leni van den Berge
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Ko de Jonge
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Dani Ploeger
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Mehreen Hashmi
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Loek Grootjans
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Ingrid Rollema
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Hans Overvliet
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Robin Weijers
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Harriët Rademakers
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Rinus Roepman
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exhibition in ruimteCAESUUR 40
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Flying the kites on Sunday, November 2018 Nijmegen | De Vasim 48
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Institute for Palestine Studies | Palestine Hall Beiruth | Lebanon April 1 – June 17, 2022 52
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art initiative Slipvillan Långholmen | Stockholm | Sweden June 4 – June 27, 2022 ten kites, made with jpgs from the original ones were shown 56
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DISTANT SUFFERING LXVIII | i.d. of a parallel kite about the self-destructive bullet dedicated to Safaa AshourLB 61
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with a little help from my friends | Michiel van Amerongen | 28/09/’26
Flying the kites Beirut, Lebanon | Vlisingen | October xx, 20262026 64
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Exhibition at the Institute for Palestine Studies, Beirut, Lebanon 2026 68
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attention from two completely different angles 70
In 2020 the kite project received attention from two completely differrent angles. It was included in the standard work the kite flying dutchman and The European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) ‘used’ the project – with permission – as an example of Israeli repression. Case Study #4: Denial of use of public space for a kite festival in Vlissingen When City Councillor Rens Reijnierse (50Plus) stood on the Vlissingen beach, visiting an art project in solidarity with Palestinians in the Israelioccupied and besieged Gaza Strip, he could not foresee that his joyful tweet about the event would unleash an international smear campaign, leading to the cancellation of the event.((For additional information about this case, see The Rights Forum, Israël-lobby drukt ‘antisemtisch ’ kunstproject in Vlissingen de kop in, 29 October 2018, available at https://rightsforum.org/nieuws/israel-lobby-drukt-antisemitischkunstproject-vlissingen-kop/ In October 2018, the platform of local artists ruimteCAESUUR had organised a kite festival and invited 20 international artists to design kites as a means of awareness-raising and solidarity with the Palestinian children of Gaza. CIDI was the first to respond to the City Councillor’s tweet, slamming the event for its use of kites, which CIDI called weapons of Gazan terror, and publishing a picture of a kite adorned with a swastika, although this kite was not related to the festival by any means. The swastika-kite CIDI depicted in its tweet had first been published by The Times of Israel in April 2018. The NIW and Jonet followed suit with similar stories about an action against the Jewish State displaying Nazi-symbolism. Editor Cnaan Liphshiz then disseminated via the New York-based Jewish Telegraphic Agency the story of the kite featuring a swastika in green, the official color of Hamas, ((See Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Dutch politician praises proPalestinian kite show featuring Nazi symbols, 26 October 2018: https://www.jta.org/2018/10/26/global/dutch-politician-praises-propalestinian-kite-show-featuring-nazi-symbols. See also The Rights Forum, Leugens over vliegerproject belanden via exmedewerker CIDI in Is-raëlische pers, 1 November 2018: https://rightsforum.org/nieuws/leugens-vliegerproject-belanden-exmedewerker-cidi-israelische-pers/)) which was replicated, among others, by Haaretz and even The Times of Israel itself. The political parties represented in the Vlissingen Council, foremost the SGP (Reformed Political Party) and the VVD, as well as the local Perspectief op Vlissingen (POV), denounced the festival as an “antisemitic project” that causes damage to the image and interests of the Vlissingen Municipality. 71
They also called for the prohibition of the festival on Vlissingen’s public beach, referring to a provision of the General Local Regulations based on which events may be prohibited, if their content and appearance do not fit with the policy or damage the interests of the Municipality. See: https://twitter.com/cidi_nieuws/status/1055017171573768195 and https://twitter.com/CIDI_nieuws/status/1054738720748961797; and Omroep Zeeland, ‘Enorme imagoschade door verwerpelijke Palestinatweet van Vlissingse wethouder’, 23 October 2018, available at: https://www.omroepzeeland.nl/nieuws/108953/Enorme-imagoschadedoor-verwerpelijke-Palestina-tweet-van-Vlissingse-wethouder. Consequently, Councillor Reijnierse apologised and cancelled his supportive tweet. Faced with this backlash, as well as threats, Hans Overvliet, initiator of the festival, cancelled a second event that had been planned, explaining: It does not make much sense for me to explain on the boulevard what the kites stand for, if the only people who come to watch it are those who think we should be shot in our legs, as I read on social media.
The kite project is included in the contemporary standard book on kite flying The Kite Flying Duchman, cultural history of the Dutch kite imagination from 1600 on by Gert-Jan Johannes and Inger Leemans. Prometheus Amsterdam uitgeverij, 2020, ISBN 978 446 463 9. 72
From the book page 140 – 141: Gaza and Vlissingen Almost four centuries after an image of an Ambonese fishing kite appeared in a Dutch book, and three centuries after the blind seer Rumphius wrote about it in his Amboinsch herb book – the fish kite was reinvented in a Dutch children’s book. It now had become an eco-friendly reminder of a world where you could fish without a permit Zeeland artist Hans Overvliet organized a kite project for the Middelburg gallery Caesuur in 2018. In the year of the 70th birthday of the state of Israel, Overvliet asked twenty artists from home and abroad to create a work of art on a hexagonal sheet of Japanese paper that he converted into a kite. The resulting kites were launched on October 20, 2018 on the Vlissingen beach. The artist wanted to recall the fact that in 2011 the Guinness record for the largest number of simultaneously launched kites was set by children from the Gaza Strip: 12.350 kites remained in the air for the required 30 seconds at a time. A nice action, but Overvliet also pointed to a less pleasant side of kite flying in Gaza: “On the other hand, kites are used to fly flammable materials and small explosives to Israeli territory and cause damage there.” The intention was that the kite artworks would contribute to constructive thinking about such ambivalences. That did not work very well. Some spectators thought they saw swastikas and anti-Semitic messages on the kites, and others even saw a bomb explosion where one of the artists wanted to depict a vagina. There was a fuss in local politics. The planned revival of the event, a few days later, was cancelled. As the initiator remarked: “It makes little sense that I will tell on the boulevard what the kites are standing for, when people who think we should be shot in the legs, as I read on social media, threaten to come.” Almost a hundred years after the kite competition of Jacob Israël de Haan, the Vlissingen kite project made it painfully clear that peace in the Middle East was still a long way off. It also raised a question that had often been asked in the confrontation between the Western and the Eastern world: is the kite an innocent piece of children’s toy, a symbol of innocence and hope, or is it a means of fighting?
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ruimteCAESUUR Middelburg Blvd. Evertsen Vlissingen De VASIM Nijmegen Slipvallen StockholmSE I.P.S. BeiruthLB