A call for Palestinian freedom echoed through the halls of the Arts Council of Pakistan on the fifteenth day of the World Culture Festival 2025, when a visiting dancer used her performance to highlight the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
During a dance and music workshop led by Kuwait's LAPA Dance Company, Palestinian performer Rawan Sameer Salamah raised the slogan "Free Palestine" before performing the traditional resistance dance Dabke, wearing a black-and-white keffiyeh.
The moment drew strong applause and quickly became a focal point of the day's programme. Earlier, Salamah had joined artists from Argentina, Kenya, Malaysia, Croatia, France and Pakistan in an international open-mic session on creative freedom in art.
The discussion soon shifted to global anxieties about technology and the erosion of human creativity, but Salamah's remarks stood out for highlighting the emotional cost of conflict.
She told participants she had "seen many artworks that lacked real emotion and story", noting that artists living under occupation face an entirely different reality. Her comments received support from fellow performers, who stressed the responsibility of art to reflect human struggle.
Argentine musician Diana Baroni, Kenyan artists Komora and Liboi, and Croatian choreographer Dr Tina also expressed concern that artificial intelligence threatens artistic identity, arguing that creativity rooted in lived experience cannot be replicated by machines.
The day featured screenings of French and Pakistani short films, including 'Lucy', 'A Young Sofiane', 'Farishta' and 'Kareegar Aurat', along with two theatre productions: the Sindhi play 'Ho Jamalo' and the Urdu socio-political satire 'Kuttay', which examines systems of power and human survival.
The World Culture Festival, a 39-day international showcase, continues in Karachi until December 7.
