Europe’s first museum of contemporary Palestinian art opens

Europe’s first museum of contemporary Palestinian art, which aims to “redefine the narrative around Palestinian identity, art and resilience,” has opened in Edinburgh.
The Palestine Museum in Scotland showcases the work of a range of Palestinian artists across paintings, sculptures and installations.

The museum, which opens in central Edinburgh on Saturday, is the first of its kind in Europe and aims to combat the “dehumanization” of the Palestinian people by illustrating their culture and narrative through art.

“We wanted to be in the best location in Edinburgh because we want people to know that as Palestinians we are not helpless victims, we are talented people,” curator and director Faisal Saleh told the AP news agency.

“The reason we are creating this museum is to allow people to understand the truth of what is happening and we are using Palestinian art as a means to communicate the Palestinian narrative.

“We want people to see our artwork and see that Palestinians are human.

“All these efforts to dehumanize and erase Palestinians are not working, and we are opening a museum filled with beautiful art.”

The museum in Edinburgh is the first branch of an existing museum in Woodbridge, Connecticut, called the US Palestine Museum.

Saleh said the team originally tried to open the museum in the building that previously housed the Israeli embassy in Dublin, after Israel announced that it would close.

However, after much resistance from the building’s owner, the team decided to choose Edinburgh as the location, given the city’s festival culture.

The Palestine Museum in Scotland exhibits work by local and international Palestinian artists.

It features artist Samia Halaby, who won a special mention at last year’s Venice Biennale, and works by Nabil Anani, 81, who is considered one of the main founders of the contemporary Palestinian art movement.

Sana Farah Bishara, a Nazareth-born sculptor who lives in Haifa, is also on display, along with recent works created in Gaza by Mohammed Alhaj and Maisara Baroud.

“We have children’s drawings from Gaza that are being exhibited.

“We have embroidery pieces,” Saleh said.

“We also have some installations representing the forced evacuations.

“We have a keffiyeh package.

“It’s a package of memories that represents what Palestinians leave behind when they are expelled from their homes.”

The museum is also displaying works by local artists in Edinburgh, including a bronze bust sculpture of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, who has been detained by the Israeli army since December. A professor at the University of Edinburgh is displaying three smaller sculptures depicting Palestinians in Gaza mourning the deaths of their children. “It’s a very emotional expression of grief that recalls what happened in Gaza, in sculptures and paintings,” Saleh said. Mr. Saleh, a US-based Palestinian businessman based in Connecticut, said he was impressed by the welcome he received in Edinburgh. “We get special treatment because we’re Palestinians, so it’s been a great experience so far,” he said. “We really appreciate the Scottish hospitality.” The Palestine Museum of Scotland is an independent, non-profit organization and will be run by volunteers.

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