In this episode of PalRead – Country of Words Podcast, we speak with artist Abed Abdi about his book illustrations and periodical cover designs since the 1960s in Haifa. Abdi collaborated with writers such as Emil Habibi, Samih al-Qasim, and Salman Natour, as well as with periodicals such as al-Ittihad and al-Jadid.
Abed Abdi was born in Haifa in 1942 and was displaced in 1948 with his family, except his father, to Lebanon and then Syria. His family was reunited with his father in Haifa in 1951. Abdi was the recipient of an art scholarship, which enabled him to move to Dresden in 1964, where he specialized in graphic art, murals and memorial art, studying under artists such as Lea Grunding. Abdi returned to Haifa in 1972, where he began to work for al-Ittihad and al-Jadid until 1982. Considered one of the leading artists in the Palestinian literary context, Abdi worked with the likes of Emil Habibi, Samih al-Qasim, Salman Natour, Muhammad Ali Taha, Deeb Abdi, and many others. He received the Hermann Struck Prize awarded by the city of Haifa in 1973 and 1999, as well as the Palestine Prize in 2019. Alongside his artistic work, Abdi has led educational workshops and was head of al-Maydan theater in Haifa between 2015 and 2019.
Listen via:
Produced by the PalREAD – Country of Words Podcast project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC)
Free University of Berlin, Department of History and Cultural Studies
Interviewer and co-editor: Rand Khdeir
Writer, Producer and Editor: Ibrahim Abdou
Host & Concept Design: Refqa Abu-Remaileh
Sound Editing & Design: Ziad Fayed
VO Recording: Gianpiero Tari
Music: “The Astounding Eyes of Rita” by Anouar Brahem (ECM Records, 2009)
Cover Art: Alexandra Sophia Handal
Production, logistics and technical support: Kerning Cultures
