RAMALLAH, The Palestinian Museum announced in a statement today the opening of its new exhibition: “A People by the Sea: Narratives of the Palestinian Coast”. The exhibition will run until 31 October 2022.

By its approach and exhibits, the exhibition constitutes a shift in presenting Palestinian historical narratives. Starting from the mid-18th century and ending in 1948, the exhibition allows for a re-examination of the Nakba through a presentation of two hundred years of historical landmarks on the history of the Palestinian coast.

The exhibition includes focused narratives: The first one highlights the rise of Akka (Acre) in the mid-18th century, presenting its political, economic, urban, and architectural history before modern states’ formation in the region. A second narrative focuses on the rise of Yafa (Jaffa) in the 19th century, with the gradual concentration of capital and trade in Palestine’s coastal cities.

This was accompanied by a growing European influence in the mid-19th century, which led to the 20th century Nakba and the fall of the country.

The exhibition’s varied exhibits: archival images and video, historical artifacts from Palestinians’ daily life, original artworks, interactive stations, maps, oral history testimonies, and historical documents – attest to the presence of an enduring and vital Palestine in its urban, architectural, economic, social, and political ensembles and structuring, prior to modern nation-states’ formations and their ensuing demarcation of political borders. That presence is continuously established and reinforced through Palestinians’ steadfastness and will for self-determination, and their close bond with their land and sea.

The Director-General of the Palestinian Museum, Adila Laïdi-Hanieh stated: “With this new exhibition, the Museum continues realizing its mission to produce and disseminate emancipatory learning experiences about Palestine. The exhibition, along with its publications, and accompanying public, educational, and intellectual activities, constitute a new direction in knowledge production on Palestine. A synthesis of documentary material, arts and design interventions, that affords spaces for reflection and experiencing the past sensorially and cognitively.”

For her part, guest curator Inass Yassin said: “through this exhibition, we managed to focus on the narratives of the people of this country, enriched with personal experience, and a chronology spanning 200 years. Most important, we placed the Nakba in its broader historical context.”

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency