Claudia Salem
Claudia Salem is a multidisciplinary artist based in Lima, Peru. A third-generation Peruvian-Palestinian, she was born in Chiclayo, Peru, to Peruvian-Palestinian parents. Her grandparents immigrated from Palestine to Peru in the early 1900s. Claudia draws much of the inspiration from her art from Palestine. As explored in the following video interview series, her intense grief and anger over the ongoing Israeli occupation and apartheid system in Palestine is the source from which she frequently draws her artistic inspiration. Claudia feels that being Palestinian and fighting for Palestinian liberation in the ways she can is at the core of who she is. Her recent works portray the horrors unfolding in Gaza as Israel commits its ongoing genocide as well as moments from the Great March of Return.
Claudia’s Art During the Gaza Genocide
In the video below, Claudia Salem takes us through her most recent work (as of June 2024). Much of this collection—which is still in progress—comes out of Claudia’s grief and anger in witnessing, from afar, Israel’s genocide in Gaza. She plays with words, portrays the images she can’t remove from her mind, etc., all in resistance to the Zionist project’s attempt to silence Palestinian voices. As she continues to be a fierce advocate for the Palestinian people in her everyday life, her Palestinian identity means that Palestine is at the core of her artistic practice.
A conversation with Claudia Salem
In this segment of Claudia’s interview, she talks not only about her art, but also about her continued activism for Palestine as a Peruvian-Palestinian in the diaspora. She is especially adamant about discussing the dehumanization of Palestinians in the media and the Western world in general.
Claudia’s Great March of Return Inspired Art
Here, Claudia delves more deeply into why she felt (and still feels) so inspired to make art based on the Great March of Return.
Image of Arabs, Prejudice
In this short clip, Claudia discusses the way that anti-Arab sentiment was something that even she internalized growing up and consuming popular media. She talks about how her trip to Palestine made her realize the depth of dehumanization of Arabs and prejudice in the media.
Fear of Speaking out
In this clip, Claudia talks about her fears in speaking out about Palestine. She emphasizes the way in which Israel as a settler-colonial state works as a type of “perfect machine” to silence voices, comparing it to other genocidal regimes.