Five Palestinian Contemporary Artists Shaping Global Art
This article highlights five contemporary Palestinian artists who explore themes of vulnerability, memory, identity, politics, and shared experiences within the context of the conflict in Gaza. Hazem Harb, born in Gaza in 1980, employs archival methods to express themes of loss and trauma and was recognized as one of the top ten young talents in the Middle East by the Quattan Foundation. Mohammed Al-Hawajri, who hails from the Bureij Refugee Camp and was born in 1976, established the Eltiqa' Group in 2002 and has received first prize at Darat al-Funun's Summer Academy. Khalil Rabah, born in Jerusalem in 1961, serves as the artistic director of the Riwaq Biennale and has exhibited at major biennales. Saj Issa, a Palestinian-American, creates sculptures inspired by Palestinian flora and paints vibrant blood-red poppies. Dima Srouji investigates the concept of terrain as a cultural space and was a Jameel Fellow at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
Key facts
- Hazem Harb was born in Gaza in 1980 and uses archival techniques to address loss and trauma.
- Harb was named among the top ten young talents in the Middle East by the Quattan Foundation.
- Mohammed Al-Hawajri was born in Bureij Refugee Camp in 1976 and founded the Eltiqa' Group for Contemporary Art in 2002.
- Al-Hawajri won first prize at Darat al-Funun's Summer Academy in Amman in 1999, 2000, or 2001.
- Khalil Rabah is artistic director of the Riwaq Biennale and founder of the Palestinian Museum of Natural History and Humankind.
- Rabah's work is in the permanent collections of the British Museum, Centre Pompidou, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
- Saj Issa was one of three artists selected for the 2024 Great Rivers Biennial at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis.
- Dima Srouji was a Jameel Fellow at the Victoria & Albert Museum (2022–2023) and leads Underground Palestine at the Royal College of Art.
Entities
Artists
- Hazem Harb
- Mohammed Al-Hawajri
- Khalil Rabah
- Saj Issa
- Dima Srouji
- Marwan Kassab Bashi
Institutions
- Quattan Foundation
- Eltiqa' Group for Contemporary Art
- Cité Internationale des Arts
- Darat al-Funun
- Riwaq Biennale
- Palestinian Museum of Natural History and Humankind
- Al Ma'mal Foundation
- Fondazione Merz
- British Museum
- Centre Pompidou
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
- Webster University
- University of California, Los Angeles
- Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- Royal College of Art
- Stedelijk Museum
- Institut du Monde Arabe
- Corning Museum of Glass
- Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary
- Art Jameel
- Sharjah Art Foundation
Locations
- Gaza
- Bureij Refugee Camp
- Striscia di Gaza
- Parigi
- Amman
- Giordania
- Gerusalemme
- Ramallah
- Venezia
- Sydney
- Istanbul
- Londra
- New York
- Abu Dhabi
- Saint Louis
- Midwest
- Cisgiordania
- Los Angeles
- Amsterdam
- Inghilterra
- Stati Uniti
- Italia
- Palestina
- Emirati Arabi Uniti
- Regno Unito
- Francia
- Svizzera
- Austria
- Giappone
- Argentina
- Bahrain
- Qatar
- Egitto
- Libano
- Germania
- Spagna