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Faces of Palestinian Arts

Delve into the rich mosaic of Palestinian arts, a realm where vibrant creativity meets profound cultural narratives.

  • 44 artists
  • Born 1909–1999
  • 6 from Gaza
Embroidery from a Bethlehem thobeEmbroidery from a Bethlehem thobe
A glassblower at work in a Hebron glass factoryA glassblower at work in a Hebron glass factory
Cypress-tree embroidery from the Jaffa areaCypress-tree embroidery from the Jaffa area
Photos: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (CC0), Mrbrefast (CC BY-SA 3.0), Ma'moun Othman (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons

About Arts

Colour against erasure.

Modern Palestinian art was born in the aftermath of 1948. Ismail Shammout, a refugee from Lydda, painted the exodus and the camps, and with Tamam al-Akhal helped give the Palestinian story its first images.

In 1973 Sliman Mansour painted Camel of Hardships, an old porter carrying Jerusalem on his back, and during the First Intifada he and other artists worked with mud, henna and local materials. Today artists such as Mona Hatoum, Emily Jacir and Samia Halaby show in the world’s great museums.

The people in this path paint, sculpt, draw, photograph and design. Their work keeps faces, places and memories in view.

All 44 artists

Every face in Arts, from the earliest pioneers to the voices of today.

Born across the decades

Tap a decade to filter · 1 without a recorded birth year

  1. 1900s
  2. 1910s
  3. 1920s
  4. 1930s
  5. 1940s
  6. 1950s
  7. 1960s
  8. 1970s
  9. 1980s
  10. 1990s

44 artists

Showing 20 of 44