Palestinian Artists Showcase Their Artwork in Jerusalem, Despite Political Muzzling and Curtailed Mobility

Of the memories that will endure of Jerusalem in 2025, Palestinian art expression may not be the first to come to mind. Still, talented local youth see the need for visual storytelling—perhaps like never before.

Following the opening of an exhibit titled Echoes of the Land by 34 young Palestinian artists at al-Ma‘mal Foundation for Contemporary Art in Jerusalem on May 29, 2025, Jerusalem Story spoke with some of the artists involved. Those conversations revealed a desolate sense of abandonment that young Palestinian (among them Jerusalemite) artists from around the country feel due to lack of opportunities and self-censorship.

“To express one’s Palestinian identity [these days] is frightening, considering the ongoing situation,”1 said Balqees Othman, the coordinator and curator of this exhibit. Balqees, who is 31 and from Beit Safafa, earned her BA in contemporary arts from Dar al-Kalima University in 2017. She is skilled in drawing, painting, and art installation. She also happens to be a cycling enthusiast; she previously led the project Wheels of Freedom, supported by the Samia Halaby Foundation, which offered women a means of independent mobility and transportation by teaching them to ride bicycles. Freedom, women’s rights, and life under occupation are all strong themes that fuel Balqees’s artwork.

This was the first time Balqees has curated an art exhibit; an experience that gave her a firsthand view of the sense of confinement, restriction, and overall fear among Palestinian artists. The exhibition, entitled Echoes of the Land, delved into the themes of memory, identity, longing, and pain.

“The idea was to gather Palestinian artists from across the country, including those from the diaspora, the occupied Golan, and of course Jerusalem,” Balqees explains.

The artists carefully exhibited their interpretations of holding on to the land, identity, and heritage amid persecution and war. Various impressive paintings, prints, video installations, and photo-based media were presented.

Among the artists from Jerusalem whose works were shown at Echoes of the Land was Rawan Joulani (b. 1996). Her video art captured her own film recordings (as taken from her apartment windows in the Palestinian neighborhood of Ras Khamis) of daily events in the adjacent Shu‘fat refugee camp and the sociopolitical dynamics they represent (see Neighborhoods beyond the Wall).

Another was Shiraz Khattab (b. 1996). Her art installation I Am the Land examines the Palestinian narrative, memory, and “connection to the land vis-à-vis the occupation’s destruction of over 540 Palestinian villages [in 1948] with the intention to erase the architecture and obliterate the history.”2

Another Jerusalemite artist, her mother from Gaza, showcasing her artwork at the exhibition was Karma Barghothi (b. 1998). Her digital drawing series, The Tired People’s Hospital, conveys the collective Palestinian sense of exasperation caused by prolonged waiting—whether at inspection points, traversing the fragmented borders, or simply navigating everyday spaces, which have become a daily source of frustration. Among other things, her portraits unravel the type of silencing that comes from constant suppression and fatigue.

Another example of the muting of the narrative among Palestinians in Jerusalem was What if the Tiles Could Speak? by Du’aa Abu Sa‘da (b. 1989), a visual artist from the occupied Syrian Golan.

The tiles Du‘aa refers to are traditional Palestinian tiles found in homes, particularly those lost to Israel after the wars of 1948 and 1967. As described in her booklet, these tiles are not merely ornaments that decorate walls and floors. Rather, they narrate a historic social and cultural decades-long story of Palestinian heritage. The tiles, as Du‘aa discovered, are a key component of local architectural identity. They provide anthropological accounts of the social, economic, and cultural characteristics of the inhabitants of Palestinian homes and the skills of their creators, especially those homes built between 1913 and 1948 (see “These Are Our Homes”: Visiting West Jerusalem’s Neighborhoods with Huda Imam).

Such a study, as Du‘aa would discover in her research and artistic journey, is essential to document and preserve for the people of Jerusalem—as narrated by the tiles of their homes.

The homes that Du‘aa covers include that of her friend and artist Rawan Bazbazat, who herself found much artistic inspiration from the generations-maintained tiles of the Bazbazat/Husseini family.

Du‘aa also considers the tile works seen in Palestinian institutions and establishments in the city, including the Dar al-Tifl Palestinian Heritage Museum, Dar Issaf al-Nashashibi, Zawiyat al-Naqshabandiyya, al-Mihbash restaurant, and the Jerusalem Hotel.

“I wanted to document the tile designs and share the family stories,” Du‘aa says. “So far, the booklet covers 13 families. I hope that this would become a larger book; a grander documentation with photographs that would start from Jerusalem and move onto the occupied Jawlan [Golan Heights].”3

Sadly, as with many events that happen in East Jerusalem, many of the participating artists could not attend the opening due to the military closures, roadblocks, and lack of access to various parts of the city. Recently, due to the unstable political situation, many events in Jerusalem have had to be postponed or canceled altogether. 

However, even if the events happen, most Palestinians are not able to attend them due to military closures, roadblocks, and lack of access to various parts of the city.

Sami Zarour, a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Ramallah, whose work Exit was on display at the exhibit, shared on social media that he could not make it to the opening in Jerusalem. “A lot of the artists, including me,” he stated, “are not permitted to get there.”4

Clearly, there is much to say—but a lot more left unsaid, unseen, and unattended. “I believe none of the participants from the West Bank could get permits to go to Jerusalem,” shared Sami a few days after the event.5

It is evident that the young artists are charged with emotion and a longing that persists despite efforts to erase their identity. As Balqees stresses, “The Palestinian Jerusalemite identity is important, and its artistic representation is integral to our steadfastness and perseverance. It is crucial for each person to be able to express their voice and sentiments through the means of art.”