Dozens of arts and media professionals have set sail for Gaza aboard the Thousand Madleens flotilla, including Bangladeshi photographer and curator Shahidul Alam. The group departed Otranto, Italy on 1 October and is currently in international waters, expecting to be apprehended by Israeli forces. Alam is traveling on the Conscience, the largest private vessel attempting to break the siege since October 2023, carrying 92 civilians from 26 countries, mostly medics and arts workers. The flotilla aims to challenge the legality of the siege and demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian professionals, particularly journalists and medics who have been targeted.
This action matters because it marks a significant mobilization of arts and media professionals in response to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, where at least 66,000 people have been killed and a famine has been declared. Alam represents the Palestinian Arts and Culture Solidarity Collective (PACSOC), reflecting growing engagement from the Global South. He criticizes the slow response from the arts world but believes the flotilla will pressure cultural professionals to take a moral stand. The mission underscores the role of artists and cultural workers in humanitarian and political activism, challenging governments that have only paid lip service to the crisis.