Yesterday, Tamer Instiute launched the album "Fahim" featuring compositions and performance by Faraj Suleiman, lyrics by writer Majd Kayyal, and vocals by child artists Fahim Abu Helou and Hala Qassis.
"Fahim" is a musical project produced with a lot of love and a touch of mischief. It reflects a child's perspective of their surrounding world through a collection of songs presented for and by children. They express their thoughts and aspirations boldly, sharing their joy, sadness, likes, and dislikes. The production of this album complements Tamer's focus on building a supportive environment for learning culture in Palestine and enhancing self-expression in all its forms for children and youth. It also explores new ways of learning and reading, especially in the current pandemic circumstances.
The album "Fahim" consists of eight songs for children. It was launched on Saturday evening at 9 PM via Facebook Live on the Tamer's social media page simultaneously with the page of the artist, the Ghassan Kanafani Children's page in the Al-Baddawi refugee camp in Lebanon, the Palestinian Ministry of Culture's page, and several Palestinian media channels. This approach was adopted due to the inability to hold live performances in Palestine due to the pandemic. The album will subsequently be available on all online music platforms.
Following the album release, a series of field activities will be carried out in the coming days to familiarize children with Fahim, the central character in the album, while ensuring compliance with safety conditions. Additionally, the album's song lyrics will be transformed into an illustrated book to be placed in the hands of children, with an expected release in the second half of this year.
Tamer Insitute is a non-profit educational institution dedicated to community education. It was established in Jerusalem in 1989 in response to the urgent need of the Palestinian community to acquire effective means of learning and production in the face of difficult social and economic conditions imposed by Israeli occupation. The institute has a steadfast vision, "For a free and secure Palestinian learning society," focusing on the right to education, identity, freedom of expression, and access to knowledge. Tamer Foundation for Community Education operates in both the West Bank and Gaza, targeting children and youth and developing alternatives and resources for formal education.
It is worth noting that this collaborative project is the second album following the release of "Qalbi Ghabe" by Tamer in 2017.