Smuggling Lemons

Creator: Jumana Emil Abboud | 2012

“In the video, we see Abboud (a Jerusalemite Palestinian) repeatedly travelling between the Old City of Jerusalem and Ramallah, via Qalandia checkpoint, carrying lemons like those from her performance. The lemons proceed out through the crowded souqs (open markets) of Jerusalem, via Damascus Gate to the Palestinian bus station on Nablus Road and onwards to Ramallah. Abboud carries two in her hands through the grinding tedium of Qalandia, where lines of Palestinians wait in metal pens to pass the checkpoint. At some points Abboud carries them in pouches hanging on her belt, deliberately reminiscent of a suicide bomber’s gear; at others she cradles them protectively, like precious objects or beloved children. Some moments are almost comic — the two lemons wobbling on the belt of an x-ray machine, or being held up to the window of the bus like characters from a children’s TV show. But behind it all is the knowledge that these lemons can end up seeing more of Palestine than most of the people of the land; in the hands of the artist, they are able to pass checkpoints and Israeli military barriers closed to many ordinary West Bankers.”

Found here

Graffiti of the Night

Creator: Unknown | 2012

“An anonymous group of Palestinian graffiti artists penetrated the neighborhoods of occupied Jerusalem overnight with political messages of resistance and to “Remember Gaza”. These pieces of graffiti were painted over public spaces, walls, doors and windows of houses in over thirty locations in the ethnically cleansed neighborhoods of Baqaa and Talbiyye.

Found here

Noss Balad

Creator: Palestinian collective in collaboration with Al Ma’mal LAB & INTEATRO | 2012

“NossBalad.com is the first Palestinian professional web-series ever produced in Jerusalem. What does it mean to be a Jerusalemite? Challenges and problems, love and joy. What if we go beyond all the cultural and political stereotypes and we focus on human beings? What would we see? Daily life, relationships, unexpected…humanity. Representing the daily absurdity using humour makes people smile but at the same time it delivers a picture of the reality in a new, effective, and interesting way. The challenging goal is to bring all the stereotypes about Jerusalem and Palestinians into question using humour and at the same time providing some simple information about actual life in Jerusalem. The idea of producing a series for the web is based on how easy it is for Palestinian youth to use new technologies. Internet is an integral part of our daily life and allows for communication over distances. The same technologies that we use everyday can become a means of artistic production. By using contemporary technology, production costs decrease while also by guaranteeing a very high quality of the output.”

Found here

The Tenth Maqama: Paper, Clay and Memory III

Creator: Mahmoud Taha | Unknown

“This exhibition presents ceramic works and limited edition prints by renowned ceramist Jordanian Mahmoud Taha. Over the past four decades, Taha has been focusing on Jerusalem and depicting the dire conditions of the Palestinian people. Through the use of calligraphy he highlights the rich legacy of the Islamic civilization. Born in Yafa, Palestine in 1942, the artist obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts specializing in ceramics from the Baghdad Academy of Fine Arts in 1968. While in Baghdad, he studied Arabic calligraphy with the late Hashem Al-Khattat.”

Found here

Parachutes Falling

Creator: Ildiko Toth | 2008

“I first explored the concept of the keys falling graphic for a poster design that aimed to promote a BADIL/Zochrot speaking tour in Portland, OR. The graphic received lots of attention, then I explored it further. The black and white kefiyah patterned parachutes are falling on to the list of all the destroyed villages above Jerusalem. I chose to show the view of Jerusalem because it is a very important subject in the future of Palestine.”

Found here

A City with a View(s)

Creator: Luchezar Boyadjiev | 2008

“In my piece, cinema chairs were more appropriate to use than regular park benches because, symbolically, the rest of the world will be seen as if in a media/cinematic situation…usually, it is the rest of the world that sees Jerusalem only (or mainly) through the eyes of the media on the screen of the TV monitor during a broadcast of the news. I guess I want to remind the inhabitants and visitors of the city of Jerusalem just how important their city is to the rest of the world — the whole world.”

Found here

Pilgrimage to Nowhere

Creator: Jumana Manna | 2008

“Manna’s work consists of a short video made of manipulated footage showing a group of people roaming a hilltop. It is unclear if they are crossing over or aimlessly walking in one spot. The audio resembles cricket chirps and echoing moans coming from zombie-like figures. The location of Manna’s piece, projected at the bottom of an empty well in the Old City of Jerusalem, adds to the feeling of obscurity and destitution.”

Found here

The Warm Light Still There

Creator: Rula Halawani | 2004

“Eight photographs of the old city of Jerusalem by night. The streets empty as though deserted and abandoned; occupied by a strong silence and shadow of night. Yet, Halawani expresses a desire to portray a connection to history, to record memories of her childhood past within the city - the warm amber light coming from street lights conveying a sense of the hopeful. The project was exhibited at the Spafford Children’s Centre, Haret al Saidiyeh, Old City.”

Found here

Cafe Air Palestine

Creator: Jean-Luc Vilmouth | 2007

“In one of the oldest Cafes in the heart of the old city of Jerusalem at Suq Al Attarin, visited mostly by men who enjoy a drink of tea coupled with a Nargileh pipe and known to the locals as ‘Cafe Al-Haj Ahmad al-Aaraj’, Jean-Luc Vilmouth installed his project ‘Cafe Air Palestine’. Transforming the local coffee house into a Cafe  equivalent to the Palestinian airlines that no longer is in operation today, Vilmouth invites visitors to enjoy the traditional Arab coffee or herbal tea at tables fitted with satellite images of Jerusalem while a neon sign in red and white hangs overhead that reads ‘Cafe Air Palestine’.”

Found here

Helaneh’s Curtain

Creator: Vera Tamari | 2007

“For the artist Vera Tamari, Jerusalem bears two significant meanings: that of ‘austerity’ and of ‘magic’. Tamari’s grandmother is utilized as the creative motivation behind the work as well as for the artists’ perception and reflection of the city. Her installation of flashing light boxes composed from the same patterns of her grandmother’s curtain, exhibited parallel to the actual curtain (handmade by her grandmother) represents the artist’s tribute, not only to her grandmother, but also to the city as a place where “fantasy becomes a necessary tool to survive the burdens of time and memory”.

Found here