Hasta La Ideas

Launched by the Institute for Palestine Studies and The Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, the Interactive Encyclopedia of the Palestine Question is a free interactive resource that journeys through Palestine’s history, art and culture. The platform, which is in English as well as Arabic, is comprised of four chapters: Beginners commences in 1795 with the development of icon painting; Pathfinders stretches across a period of art in the mid-1900s that was predominately pioneered by refugees; Explorers includes censored works that were created under occupation; and Present Tense: New Directions is a chapter on international and conceptual art. There is also a section devoted to Palestinian embroidery that details how the Nakba (the Arabic word for “catastrophe,” used by Palestinians to refer to the mass eviction created by the founding of Israel) birthed new art. In linking history and politics to visual art, the project depicts the agency, creativity and strength of Palestinians whose legacy is often obscured. Read more about it at The Art Newspaper.

Image of Ismail Shammut’s “At Erez Crossing (The Queue)” (1997), courtesy of the Institute for Palestine Studies