Auction of the Wall that Came to London

Did you experience and were you touched last Christmas by witnessing a replica of the Wall, which imprisons the people of Bethlehem, raised up outside an architecturally noteworthy church in central London? If so, you can own for yourself a tactile chunk of that memory. Broken up pieces of that replica Wall are going under the hammer to raise more money for the non-violent struggle for justice for the citizens of Bethlehem, and all around that iconic “little town”.

Thousands of people in London last Christmas saw and experienced the phenomenon of a replica of a section of the Wall, which now surrounds Bethlehem, cutting off their view of the architecturally notable church by Piccadilly Circus, St James Church. The Wall at Bethlehem is a part of the apartheid Separation Barrier which snakes its way for 200 odd miles on or, mostly, within the internationally recognised border (the Green Line) between Israel and the Palestinian territory, the West Bank.

Over the twelve days of Christmas, it became a place of meeting, connection, debate, performance arts and an amazing installation for evolving graffiti art.

ICAHD UK were proud to have a constant presence throughout this exuberant sort of festival, with a stall in the church itself, always manned by people with good knowledge of the reality and effects of the hafrada (Hebrew for ‘separation’, ‘setting apart’) wall and fence on life in Bethlehem and the rest of the West Bank and Gaza (also surrounded by a “security” fence).

Justin Butcher, Director of Bethlehem Unwrapped, writes this invitation:

Dear friends,

On December 23rd 2013, the 8m high _WALL_ installation was built across the courtyard of the historic Christopher Wren church, blocking it from view, _unwrapping_ the reality of Bethlehem at Christmas _ a city and a people imprisoned by the Separation Wall.

Accumulating the graffiti-ed drawings and messages of an estimated 30,000 visitors from all over the world, _WALL_ became a major collective work of protest art. The installation was reported and reviewed by global television, radio, print and online publications, and reached a social media audience of 8 million via Twitter. At the closing ceremony on January 5th 2014, the Wall was transformed into a bridge, symbol of hope and connection. On January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany, the Wall was dismantled.

We are delighted to invite you to the auction of this historic canvas, graffiti snapshot of the moment when the Wall came to London.

Graffiti-ed panels from _WALL,” centrepiece of the acclaimed Bethlehem Unwrapped Festival will be auctioned at St Luke’s Church, Hillmarton Road, London N7 9RE next Wednesday, June 4th 2014 at 7pm for 7.30pm, to raise funds for the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem.

Also on display, with some items on sale, is artist Meg Wroe’s exhibition of paintings on wood from her 2012 visit to Bethlehem, together with an exhibition of children’s art from the Dar Al-Kalima School in Bethlehem, “All They Draw Is The Wall”. See www.megwroe.com/bethlehem.html.

The evening includes the premiere of the Bethlehem Unwrapped documentary & light refreshments from Zaytoun CIC.

We look forward to welcoming you, and thank you for your support for Bethlehem Unwrapped.

Kind regards,

Justin Butcher Deborah Burton

Creative Director, Director,

Bethlehem Unwrapped Tipping Point North South

Warm greetings to you from Palestine

Rima Tarazi, Ramallah