Art. Sumud. Gaza. A Conversation with Artist Mohammed Musallam

Before coming to T’karonto with his family, Gaza-born artist Mohammed Musallam taught at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Al-Aqsa University.

Join us for this brunch-time conversation about Musallam’s own practice in Gaza and beyond, see some of his work on exhibit at Louf, and learn about the vibrant art scene that produced and sustained the participating artists of the Gaza Biennale T'karonto, on view at Gallery TPW and A Space Gallery from Nov.13th - Dec.13th, 2025.

louf by Chef Fadi Kattan and Nicole Mankinen // Combining local, Indigenous, and Palestinian ingredients with centuries-old techniques, louf is first and foremost about bringing people together to share exceptional food. The restaurant serves as a celebration of this illustrious yet under-represented cuisine and is a place to gather with events that enrich and support the Toronto arts and culture scene.

Mohammad Musallam (www.mohammedmusallam.com), born in Gaza in 1974, Mohammad Musallam holds a Ph.D. in Art Philosophy and taught drawing, painting, and the history of Palestinian art for 11 years at the only Faculty of Fine Arts in Gaza. A researcher in Palestinian visual arts, his works have been exhibited in solo and group shows in Palestine and internationally. Now based in Toronto, Canada, Musallam is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice includes abstract painting, performance, and installation. His work engages audiences through materials and technologies that explore freedom, peace, and human movement. Using elements drawn from his surroundings, he expresses complex ideas with simplicity and powerful emotional energy.

Gita Hashemi (gitaha.net) is an Iranian refugee, a transdisciplinary artist, activist, curator, and writer who works from T’karonto, the “Dish With One Spoon Territory,” the lands of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, and the Mississaugas of Credit. She lives near Wonscotonach River. Her home in Shiraz was near Khoshk River. She works in visual, media and performance art, digital and net art, and language-based art including live embodied writing, as well as in curation and publishing. She has curated many generative and multi-platform projects including Negotiations: From a Piece of Land to a Land of Peace and exhibition Will (2003, with Negotiations Working Group), the first multidisciplinary art events post Camp David and Roadmap that brought together Palestinian and Indigenous artists, filmmakers, poets, and performers for 10 days exploring shared issues and strategies for countering settler colonialism and celebrating Palestinian Intifadas.

Also check out other Arts events in Toronto, Fine Arts events in Toronto, Food & Drink events in Toronto.