Khaled Jarada is a Palestinian artist from Gaza City. He settled in La Charité-sur-Loire as part of the Nora program. This artist residency “was developed by the Ministry of Culture. It is open to artists seeking asylum or who have obtained it. It’s a very special program set up around ten years ago through the association L’atelier des artistes en exil,” summarizes the director of the Cité du mot, Philippe Le Moine, who welcomes one or two per year. “This summer we had a Ukrainian and last year an Afghan.”
This November, Khaled Jarada moved into the apartment consisting of two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom and a kitchen, located at the entrance to the Priory. “We offer him accommodation and a living allowance of €20 per day” in addition to a grant of €1,000 from the Ministry of Culture.
Philippe Le Moine explains:
What is important is that the artist can concentrate on his work without worrying about anything.
A graphic novel about exile
The 28-year-old Palestinian finally has the freedom to create his graphic novel.
“I am writing a biography where I talk about my exile between my house in Gaza and my house in Reims” where he arrived in 2022. “I talk about my journey and what it is like to be in a in between.”
This work entitled A room in Reimswhich he writes in English and Arabic, his mother tongue, is due to be published next October in England. Khaled is also in negotiations with a French publisher. “I have until August to finish it. »
He will return for another month in residence, in February 2025, at La cite du mot in La Charité-sur-Loire to “clear his head. It's a quiet town. I have less stress” than in Paris where he studied at the School of Fine Arts.
