From Palestine With Art in the interiors of Palazzo Mora
In April 2018, the first Palestinian museum opened in the Western Hemisphere known as Palestine Museum US with the mission to preserve, celebrate and share the Palestinian identity. Today, four years later, they have brought their expressions to Venice after being selected as one of the official Collateral Events of the 59th International Art Exhibition by La Biennale di Venezia and hosted in the European Cultural Centre's venue of Palazzo Mora.

From Palestine With Art | Photo credits: Federico Vespignani
The Palestinian Museum aims to preserve Palestinian history, celebrate the artistic excellence of Palestinian artists, and tell the Palestinian story to a global audience through the arts. In the United States, the Museum features 6,500 square feet of exhibition space and contains over 200 works of art representing over 60 artists from Palestine and from exile. In Venice, they have presented some of those works to Palazzo Mora as part of their exhibition From Palestine With Art.
Accessible on the first floor of the palace, the exhibition features nineteen Palestinian artists residing in Palestine and countries around the world. “From Palestine With Art proudly shows international art world works by Palestinian artists practising today,” explains Nancy Nesvet, head curator of Palestine Museum US and exhibition curator, "looking to the present and future, showing the enduring beauty of Palestine and earning their deserved place in the global arts arena”.

From Palestine With Art | Photo credits: Matteo Losurdo
The nineteen participating artists represent wide diversity in geography, demographics, and artistic language. The exhibition features paintings, including nine portraits of Palestinians prominent in arts and literature; installation, sculpture, photography, and a floor-length historic map of Palestine. It visualises Palestinians’ longing for a safe homeland and defiance of decades of injustice. Acknowledging the creative act as a form of resistance, artists living on the land of Palestine have joined those living in exile to present the vibrant Palestinian national culture; a culture that refuses to accept man-made architecture and geography built to divide and constrict movement and rather rises above it to show the natural beauty of Palestine and strength of its people.
Palestinian artists of all ages show hopes and dreams of freedom as they debunk myths of the old dying and the young forgetting. Incorporating symbols distinct to Palestinian life, artists have created unifying artistic language to show the living reality of Palestine. From the branches of a live olive tree hang keys from Palestinian refugees’ homes that signify the right of return. An audio program plays in the background presenting the recorded Palestinian oral histories along with a continuous stream of Palestinian music. Or even beautiful embroidery patterns identifying villages. Altogether, From Palestine With Art depicts and celebrates the pride and beauty of an identity.

From Palestine With Art | Photo credits: Federico Vespignani
From Palestine and exile
At the exhibition, we can find the images of cyclamen by Karim Abu Shakra which symbolise steadfastness in the face of oppression. In his pictures, the painted faces of beautiful Palestinian women express attachment to family and land. Closely, Taqi Sabateen’s depiction of hills surrounding Jerusalem join Nabil Anani’s panorama of majestic Palestinian landscapes of overlapping hills terraced with olive fields and dotted by pencil-thin Italian cypress, as well as a photograph of Rula Halawani sounding the alarm over the imminent destruction of that utopia. In dialogue, we can find Rania Matar’s photographs showing us an exuberant young Palestinian venturing outside of her Lebanon refugee camp and experiencing the sea for the first time, while another photograph by Hanan Awad tells the story of a Palestinian woman, clad in an embroidered thobe, offering her meagre harvest of figs for sale at the Ramallah vegetable market.

From Palestine With Art | Photo credits: Federico Vespignani

From Palestine With Art | Photo credits: Federico Vespignani
To these works, join many other voices. Samia Halaby showcases her abstract painting expressing a radical optimism that is equally strong in the blue sky and sea of Nameer Qassim’s painting titled Enough which demands a halt to violence against women. Jacqueline Bejani portrays Palestinians prominent in the arts and literature. Mohammed Khalil’s Salt Worker laments back-breaking work often relegated to women labourers. Hanan and Farah Munayyer’s prized collection includes two historic Palestinian thobes, fully accessorized and with motifs, identifying the village of origin, connecting with contemporized embroidery patterns and Arabic calligraphy in Samar Hussaini’s printed fabric. And finally, stories of life since 1948, written and encased in kefir-yah-cloth bundles, bear testimony in Ibrahim Alazza’s installation, while Salman Abu Sitta’s 1877 map shows the pristine Palestine that was before colonial settlers transformed it into today’s walled enclaves, forbidden areas, and checkpoints.
Palestinian artists be they workers on the land, city dwellers, refugees in camps, or exiles abroad are clearly in love with the beauty of their land – a beauty that elicits a deep emotional response. In Venice, Palestinian artists from around the globe collectively paint hope as they present their art to the world.
You can visit From Palestine With Art at Palazzo Mora until the 27th of November or discover their work by exploring the virtual tours online, or by visiting their profile online or website.