FRANCOIS ABU SALEM HAS GONE ON: brilliant, ironic, visual-sonic artist, playwright, director Francois Abu Salem died yesterday in Ramallah. Always dancing within the existential and the here-and-now, his body of work since the 1970s laid the foundation for a richly diverse and consequential Palestinian theater movement today. Here, Francois is pictured directing a video shoot for “Jerusalem: Gates to the City” commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution in 1995. Francois personified the challenges of multiple identities that often get flattened out when used in academic discourse. He was a dear friend and an inspiration and I honor his inner struggle and his life’s work.

-Amy Horowitz