Days on The Kate: a collaborative photo essay

It was the week commencing the 16th of August, and DREAMERS was invited to be a part of the press efforts for The Kate, a Bristol boat sailing to Gaza with humanitarian aid. Mid-August is a busy time for sun-worshipping Bristolians, and a lot of the creatives in our community were off at festivals, camping, or abroad. With not much time to pull together a team to help with capturing The Kate’s final few days before they set sail, we put out a call-out for writers, videographers, editors, designers and photographers to join us in capturing the community events and press conference that the activists on The Kate had organised.

We were incredibly lucky to have many talented people jump on board (literally and figuratively) to help us tell the story of The Kate before they left Bristol. Thank you to video editor Vicky Jordan, designer Emily de Aguilar, writer Mina Nadezjda Janssens, videographer Ollie Ley, and to photographers Oliver Dorman, Mitali Shah, and Beth Davies.

This photo essay, created in a collaborative and loving spirit, shares the warm, poignant and invigorating days we spent with The Kate.

Oliver

I got an unexpected call asking if I could go and take photographs of the flotilla boat in Bristol for DREAMERS. I’m not a particularly active activist, but I’ve been acutely aware of the situation in Palestine for decades, and feel very strongly about breaking the siege on Gaza, getting aid to people and stopping the horrific violence and killing.

I have massive admiration for the people who dedicate so much of their lives to organising and doing every last little thing they can to try to create some change for the better and save lives. So being asked to photograph it felt like an unexpected honour.

I’m an artist, and photography is something I hadn’t really exercised since doing a lot of shooting in London around 2010. Picking up a camera again reminded me of the strange access photography gives you. You can become almost invisible, wandering around and capturing people and what’s happening, getting close to the actual spirit of an occasion.

I was given a tour of the boat and met some of the people who would be leaving that Monday. There were people making things to sell for fundraising, people coming and going, and lots of kind words and encouragement from the public.

Being a very visual person, it felt really good to find that something I know how to do could be useful to a cause I genuinely believe in. The day itself was surprisingly relaxed and lovely, but I knew it was an important one. It felt empowering to be there and to make my own small contribution.

Mitali

my third eye was witness to a crew on a mission for humanity
Gaza is calling on Bristol to bring aid for some sanity
a crowd of fifty odd ears and hearts crying for clarity
passers-by slowing their pace, perceptive of an abnormality

at destination, food and medication is simply our service
history explains that Bristol harboured captured injustice
at last these waters shall be used for freedom business
the journey ahead, we demand for liberty's apprentice

I take my third eye onboard, snapshotting my vision,
my humility gets the best of me as I wait for attention,
crew apologised for making my eye droopy, I tell them I'm no important groupie
a man who has seen suffering to the bone, raised my chin, and said with assuring tone
that without my third eye, the world will never remember to use theirs at the west
my third eye refocuses its lens, given space to capture character at its best

my third eye was witness to a crew on a mission for humanity
Gaza is calling on Bristol to bring aid for some sanity
a crowd of fifty odd ears open and hearts crying for clarity
passers-by slowing their pace, perceptive of an abnormality.

Beth

I arrived at The Kate on Sunday evening to a crowd gathered and the sound of music. Using the boat itself as a stage, four friends sang and played guitars. Their acoustic set, featuring songs like "Not" by Big Thief, was emotional and almost haunting.

The energy shifted as the gathering of people were led in their own performance - a traditional dance involving two wooden sticks being waved around, hit together and chanting. I documented the multigenerational crowd learning the moves, jumping around and shouting ‘Free Palestine’ with such passion – the dance gave space to release the anger that had brought everyone together.

In the moments after, I watched friends hugging and moments of conversation, feeling the community spirit and sense of friendship. Walking around the boat helped to contextualise the space that those travelling on the flotilla would be living in, with graffiti adorning the walls reading messages of peace, poetry and political calls to action.

As the sun began to set, people headed to The John Sebastian Lightship for an evening of music, connection and fundraising. First, a sitar performance captivated the audience – the boat falling silent and people closing their eyes, fully in the music. A rapper then took the stage; through clever lyricism, she discussed the state of the world and fighting for change, raising the audience’s hands into the air in solidarity. The atmosphere of the boat changed once again when spoken word storytelling brought the audience silent for the second time that evening. Before leaving, I caught the performance of a duo of rappers who continued the energy into the night.

The evening I spent here was full of music, love and camaraderie, a positive send-off before The Kate left the harbour the next morning.

Find these photographers on IG:

Mitali Shah @_mitulshah
Oliver Dorman @oliver_dorman
Beth Davies @bethdaviesphotography_