Artists arrived with family and friends at the Bethlehem Peace Center, where a live feed connected them to a small gathering at an artist’s studio in Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip.
asserted
feed → arrive → Strip
The two exhibitions marked the opening of Anamel Falasteen, the first competition organised by Falasteen Collective, a cultural initiative launched in 2025 by Palestinian artists, filmmakers, designers and others working in arts and culture.
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exhibitions → mark → arts
The three-day twin exhibitions, held earlier this week, brought together young Palestinian artists whose work and opportunities to meet are separated by Israeli movement restrictions.
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work → hold → restrictions
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“In the competition, we have Palestinian artists from Jerusalem, historic Palestine, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
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we → pull → Jerusalem
,” said Osama Nazzal, one of the judges, speaking in Bethlehem.
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Nazzal → say → Bethlehem
“I don’t like these divisions.
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I → like → divisions
I want to say all of Palestine.”
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I → want → Palestine
From his studio at Gallery Paleta in Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp, amid Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave, painter and juror Ghanem Al Den sent greetings on the live feed.
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Den → send → feed
“Greetings and peace from soul to soul, from Gaza to our sister Palestinian cities across this beloved homeland,” he said.
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he → say → homeland
“In this competition, many things that were lost came together.
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that → lose → competition
After the speeches, visitors had the opportunity to take a closer look at the paintings, photographs and drawings that covered the walls.
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that → have → walls
Visitors moved between them, stopping to look closer, point and talk about what they saw.
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they → move → what
“Artists decided to come from Hebron, from Ramallah, from Jerusalem, from Jaffa, from Nablus, despite the risk,” said Mohamed Abusrour, one of the founding members of Falasteen Collective.
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Abusrour → decide → Collective
“They have a voice, they want to contribute, and they want to show the world that we still exist.
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we → have → world
Because of the blockade and movement restrictions, the organisers said there was no way to transport original artworks out of Gaza.
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organisers → say → Gaza
Instead, they printed reproductions of the Gaza submissions and hung them alongside original pieces.
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they → print → pieces
For one Bethlehem visitor, the curation was what stood out.
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what → stand → visitor
She assumed some works exploring similar themes were by the same artist.
asserted
works → assume → artist
They turned out to be by different artists, some in Gaza and others in the West Bank.
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They → turn → Bank
“I sat a bit longer with some paintings, and that brought tears to my eyes,” she said.
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she → sit → eyes
“The livestream with the presence of everyone’s paintings was a portal to bringing everyone’s essence together.”
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livestream → bring → essence
Young artists document loss and everyday life
The works on display reflected different ways of documenting Palestinian life, from the loss of family and home in Gaza to the traditions and everyday experiences artists want to preserve.
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artists → document → traditions
Abusrour said the idea for the competition came from listening to artist friends describe how they could not participate or express themselves freely.
uncertain
they → say → themselves
He said the aim was to give young Palestinians a platform to show their work at home and abroad “without any restriction”.
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aim → say → restriction
About 170 applied, nearly 60 percent from Gaza, according to the organisers.
uncertain
170 → apply → organisers
A jury split between the West Bank and Gaza selected 120 works across three tracks: memory and place, land and return, and everyday heritage.
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jury → split → tracks
The jury met daily by video, working through power and internet cuts in Gaza.
“Despite the lack of resources, they decided to take part, and when they decided to take part, they decided to take part with strength,” Abusrour said of the artists in Gaza.
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Abusrour → meet → Gaza
Among the works shown in Gaza was The Vine Bears Witness, by Arwa Mukhaimer, a 20-year-old university student.
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Witness → show → Mukhaimer
It shows the entrance to her family’s home, shaded by a grapevine.
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It → show → grapevine
It was there, on March 30, 2024, that she received news of her father’s death.
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she → receive → death
He had been unable to get medical treatment during Israel’s war on Gaza, she said.
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she → get → Gaza
Five months later, she said, the house was destroyed.
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house → say → ?
“This painting is a memorial to what we lost, a double loss, of the father and of the place,” she told Al Jazeera.
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she → lose → Jazeera
Two days before he died, he told her: “My darling, may God be pleased with you.”
uncertain
God → die → you
She wrote those words into the painting.
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She → write → painting
When she was displaced as a result of the war, she said, “The first thing I thought about was my tools.”
asserted
I → displace → war
Art supplies are hard to find in Gaza, she said, and some materials never enter the Strip.
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materials → find → Strip
The challenges facing artists extend beyond access to materials.
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challenges → face → materials
Gaza’s main art spaces, including the Eltiqa and Shababeek galleries, have been destroyed as a result of Israeli attacks in Gaza.
asserted
spaces → include → Gaza
Mukhaimer said her painting “has hope and joy in it, but its meaning is painful and moving”.
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meaning → say → it
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
