Firearms Prohibited at Prospects
When I started working on this artwork for Prospects, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I wanted to capture the shock I felt when I visited my primary school in Dura, my hometown, an UNRWA school. At the gate I had crossed for nine formative years of my childhood, I was met with a sign: Firearms Prohibited.
A few weeks after submitting my proposal, I received an email from the @collectiverefusal group informing me about the history of the space where the Prospects Art Fair is held—Rotterdam Ahoy, a venue that hosts a weapons fair every November. (I confronted the curators; they redirected me to speak to another person, they got no time for this, I understand!
Last month, I visited my family in Palestine. While I was there, the war erupted. The last thing I remember as I was leaving the West Bank is the barrel of a rifle pointed at my face. The end.
That same rifle ”I can’t help but wonder” was it once on display in the very space where I am now invited to show my work? Rhetorical question!
This is an invitation to the Mondriaanfonds to rethink the structure of Prospects.
We need Prospects.
Prospects doesn’t need Rotterdam Ahoy.
Today, we have the opportunity to ask what Prospects can be, and what it should be.
The work is a reproduction of the metal signs, screen-printed on metal.
For inquiries about the work, please reach out to:
saja.m.amro(at)gmail.com
Rethinking Education: An Invitation to Join My Online Course
Hi all,
I hope this note finds you well. I’m excited to share something I’ve been working on and to invite you to join my first online / semi–independently organized course.
For the past three years, I’ve been observing, teaching, writing, and thinking deeply about one central topic: education and space. Until now, I’ve explored these questions alongside my students in the university context. Now, I want to take this exploration beyond institutions and open it to a broader community—people from diverse backgrounds, carrying memories across generations.
I’ve come to see institutionalized education—school—as a space that disconnects us from nature, from our bodies, and from society. It often discourages us from navigating the world in our own unique ways and expects everyone to think similarly. Education, as it stands, measures us linearly, rewarding only grades.
As Munir Fasheh reflected in one of his Mujawarat:
“If you go to a shoe shop and pick a shoe that doesn’t fit, you change the shoe. Only in schools are curricula expected to fit everyone’s brain. If it doesn’t fit, it’s your brain that’s faulty. Our feet are more respected than our brains.”
The reason we struggle to lead ourselves toward liberation is because we’ve forgotten how to be free. Twelve years in classrooms—sitting at desks, expected only to listen—leaves little room for our own questions, ideas, or doubts. Would our bodies have the freedom to explore their capacities? Instead, we become certified products in a system designed to keep the 1% richer and the rest complicit. What a waste.
Rejecting the schooling system, as I have for years, is not enough—we need to imagine alternatives. Otherwise, rejection keeps us stuck in a cycle with nowhere to go.
The typical classroom functions as a vehicle of subjugation: the student is treated as an empty bank account, the teacher as the sole source of knowledge. Everyone is expected to look in one direction; our eyes, ears, and bodies are held hostage so information can be poured in—preparing us to participate in civic life and the wheel of production. This is what Paulo Freire famously described as the “banking” model of education in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, where students are passive recipients rather than active participants in their own learning.
In this course, we will examine the classroom from a spatial perspective, exploring the power dynamics and hierarchies that emerge from its design. We’ll begin with our own memories of classrooms—the ones that still live rent-free in our bodies and minds. Together, we will read, sketch, and reflect.
From there, we’ll imagine alternative pedagogies and the kinds of spaces needed for them to flourish. Together, we’ll produce a series of spatial drawings and co-write an article that articulates these ideas.
The main resources for the course will be your embodied and personal experiences, practices of collective learning, your grandmothers, and the writings of Munir Fasheh, Paulo Freire, and Ivan Illich.
This course is hosted by the School for Radical Imagination, a project initiated by Besan Abu Joudeh. I’ve followed her work for some time and deeply trust her vision. It’s a young project, and I believe this experience will help it grow and evolve. What inspired me most to accept her invitation is the opportunity to help build an international network of lifelong learners—something that brings joy to my heart, keeps my curiosity alive, and keeps me moving forward.
About course fees and accessibility
For a long time, I struggled with the idea of charging for this kind of work. It felt uncomfortable to place a price on teaching, guiding reflection, and sharing knowledge that I hold deeply. Over time, I’ve realized that my experience and expertise are valuable, and I can create this course in a way that honors that—while still keeping it accessible.
If you are unable to pay the full fee, please reach out to me directly. Some scholarships and payment plans are available. My hope is that financial limitations do not prevent anyone from participating in this collective exploration.
You can find all the course details in the link below. If you have questions, ideas, or suggestions, I’m happy to discuss. I hope you’ll join this exploration—together, we can rethink what learning could be.
https://www.radicalimagination.school/the-classroom-is-burning