We invite all who stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and oppressed communities worldwide to join us for a once-in-a-lifetime Virtual Reality memorial experience, offering an intimate, first-hand view of Gaza as documented by Gazan artists and journalists.

Since 2022, the Phoenix of Gaza team has been capturing 360-degree images and videos across Gaza, documenting daily life, historic landmarks, cultural sites, schools, mosques, markets, beaches, agricultural areas, and so much more. Much of what was captured no longer exists, erased by the ongoing genocide. But these images remain, an archive of cultural memory, resistance, and life.

As the violence escalated, this project took on urgent meaning. It offers a vital feminist intervention: a visual testimony to the everyday lives of Palestinians before the siege, including weddings, tatreez workshops, palm harvesting, and clay making. These moments reflect the often-erased labor of women in preserving cultural practices, nourishing families, and sustaining life even under siege. In Gaza, reproduction and care have become radical acts of resistance, even as Israel’s warfare deliberately targets the conditions of life itself, cutting off baby formula, forcing cesarean sections without anesthesia, and weaponizing starvation as a form of reproductive genocide.

This exhibition is held in loving memory of Yahya Sobeih, a courageous Palestinian photojournalist and dedicated member of the Phoenix of Gaza XR Project who was martyred on May 7th by a Zionist Entity-American airstrike on a restaurant. Yahya risked his life to document the brutal realities unfolding on the ground, giving the world a glimpse into the resilience and steadfastness of the Gazan people amid unimaginable loss. Now, we are fundraising for Yahya’s wife Amal, and her three children, as they are struggling to survive in Gaza under forced starvation and constant bombardment. The gendered violence of genocide is apparent and it is critical we take action to support Amal and her children. Yahya and Amal's story is not unique as over 60,000 people have been martyred by the Zionist Entity in the last two years, and 85% of the people in Gaza are in the fifth and final stage of this current manmade starvation.

You’ll see Gaza through Yahya's and other Gazan journalists' eyes and experience what the captured using VR glasses. This is more than a memorial—it’s a refusal to let Gaza be erased. 

EVENT DETAILS:

If you’re unable to donate, please still RSVP and email us at pfc-nyc@proton.me—no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

if you are unable to attend but still would like to donate and read about Yahya and his family, please click on link here: https://chuffed.org/project/help-yahya-sobeihs-wife-and-kids

To receive updates on future PFC events and programming, email us at pfc-nyc@proton.me.

If you're interested in learning more about the Phoenix of Gaza XR project, please email us at info@gazaxr.com or check out our website https://gazaxr.com/.