In light of what Jerusalem continues to face from exclusionary policies enforced by militarisation and closure, the Palestinian Museum has created a multi-faceted project and exhibition, Jerusalem Lives, which aims to focus on the living aspect of the city and support its people. The exhibition attempts to examine the city of Jerusalem as a case study metaphorically representing globalisation and its failures, and find answers to inspire a better future. Veering away from clichés, the exhibition exposes the neoliberal, colonial and imperial challenges imposed by the Israeli occupation that Jerusalem and its people are facing. Could the title Tahya Al Quds be transformed from a mere slogan into an invitation to present real content and support for life in the city? What are the stories of collective resistance? How do we make Jerusalem live?
Four chapters explore the concept, beginning with a multidisciplinary exhibition displaying audiovisual materials that demonstrate the emanation, effects, and limitations of globalisation in the city of Jerusalem. Commissioned or refabricated site-specific artworks by 18 Palestinian and international artists form the second chapter, in the grounds and gardens of the Palestinian Museum. In the third chapter, the public programme aims at supporting civic institutions in the city that have adopted an enduring methodology of collective struggle. Developed at the museum’s initiative on the basis of a working relationship and stimulating dialogue with various local organisations, the inaugural exhibition of the Palestinian Museum provides a platform for a group of fellow institutions to undertake and broaden a series of long-term compelling projects. The fourth chapter, the JERUSALEM LIVES publication, focuses on knowledge production as a frontier of resistance. In partnership with the journal Jerusalem Quarterly, a special edition celebrating the lives of renowned Jerusalemites has been produced to anchor the editorial component of this multilayered curatorial project. Read more about the Central Exhibition.
Reem Fadda was former Associate Curator, Middle Eastern Art for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, 2010–16. She worked as Academic Director to the International Academy of Art – Palestine. Fadda was curator for the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates of the 55th Venice Biennale, 2012, and was recently curator of the 6th Marrakech Biennale.
Participating artists
Ruanne Abou-Rahme & Basel Abbas, Naji al-Ali, Bisan Hussam Abu Eisheh, Nabil Anani, Nahed Awwad, Samira Badran, Tayseer Barakat, Kamal Boullata, Raouf Haj-Yahia, Khalil Halabi, Samia Halaby, Rula Halawani, Mona Hatoum, Khaled Hourani, Ahed Izhiman, Emily Jacir, Khaled Jarrar, Marwa Jbara, Muqata’a, Yazan Khalili, Bashir Makhoul, Sliman Mansour, Abdul Hay Mosallam, Ibrahim Noubani, Khalil Rabah, Khalil Rayyan, Nida Sinnokrot, Dennis Sobeh, Vera Tamari, Visualizing Palestine, Inass Yassin, Mohanad Yaqubi, Vladimir Tamari, Sultan F.N. Abdulaziz Al-Saud (Saudi Arabia), Iman Issa (Egypt), Athar Jaber (Iraq/ Netherlands), Mohammed Kazem (United Arab Emirates), Maria Thereza Alves (Brazil), Simone Bitton (France), CAMP, Rain Wu & Eric Chen (Taiwan), Bob Gramsma (Switzerland), Oscar Murillo (Colombia), Sudarshan Shetty (India), Adrian Villar Rojas (Argentina).
Partner institutions in Jerusalem
The African Community Society, Arab Studies Association, the Palestinian National Theatre - El-Hakawati, Silwan Club, Al-Bustan Association Silwan, Al Budeiri Library, Grassroots Jerusalem, Jerusalem Quarterly.
Donors
This exhibition is supported by a number of Palestinian, Arab donor organisations and individuals, including: Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, The Asfari Foundation, Bank of Palestine, Hani Bader Kalouti, Ibn Al Quds, Luay Shafiq Khoury, Dr. Nabil Hani Qaddumi, Nizar and Raghda Jardaneh, Philanthropist, Samer Said Khoury, and Suheil Haseeb Sabbag
