On This Land
Alserkal Arts Foundation x Barjeel Art Foundation x The Palestinian Museum
Concrete | 19 Nov_26 Nov
Tour Time: 7PM

On This Land originated with the Birzeit-based Palestinian Museum, which had been planning a show on the cultural legacy of Gaza. That exhibition, like much else, has a precarious future.

In this moment of deadlock, collaboration appears to be the most potent antidote. The Palestinian Museum, the Barjeel Art Foundation, and Alserkal Arts Foundation have spirited On This Land to life in two weeks.

This unrehearsed dialogue between modern and contemporary art and photographic archives has dual intent. First, to create a space for informed contemplation: visitors access an unexpected window onto Gaza, prompted to imagine a possible future through the prism of a past made manifest. Second, On This Land harnesses the power of spontaneous collaboration not only to protect what is being silenced, but to generate a triangulated and amplified response.

Faris Shomali is a researcher and art archivist. His work explores visual arts in and of Palestine. He has previously worked as a digitization manager at the Palestinian Museum Digital Archive project. Currently, he is a PhD student at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto. His doctoral research investigates the social life of Palestine’s art. Exploring the biographies of artworks, his research offers an examination of art and politics that moves beyond the political connotations of art toward an examination of the politics of circulation.

Artwork credits: Sliman Mansour, October Afternoon, 2011