Ambitious plans are emerging for a museum in the war-torn Gaza Strip, honouring Palestinian culture and history.
The proposals are an offshoot of the £40m Palestinian Museum Hub – currently under construction more than 83km (52m) away in Birzeit, the West Bank – which is due to open next year.
As part of this project, there are plans for satellite sites in key cities around the world which have large Palestinian communities: Jerusalem, Gaza, Haifa, Beirut, Amman, Dubai, London, San Diego and Santiago.
“The satellite in Gaza will help the Palestinian Museum to implement its exhibitions and programmes there through partnerships and collaborations with different institutions in Gaza,” said Palestinian Museum director, Jack Persekian, who is also leading the creation of the satellite sites.
“The programme will be a combination of touring exhibitions, education outreach programmes, public talks and other activities.”
The content of each satellite site will be determined by its context and location, as well as what is achievable in terms of transportation and logistics.
The main logistical issue which Gaza presents as a location is that very few people are allowed to travel in or out of it. Persekian, who has had to overcome many challenges in the development of the main site, is unfazed by this. Some Gaza-based partners have already been identified, and last October they collaborated with two institutions on an exhibition.
“We will keep attempting to physically go to Gaza, but not being able to visit will not stop us from working there,” he told
Attractions Management. “The Palestinian Museum have set a mission from the onset to reach out to all Palestinians. Since the people of Gaza cannot visit the Museum in Birzeit because of the blockade imposed on them by the Israeli occupation, we need to reach out to them physically and virtually.”
No fixed timescale has been set, but Persekian hopes the Gaza satellite could be up and running during the second half of 2016.
The Palestinian Museum is being funded by The Welfare Association, an international charity of Palestinians which provides aid, health and education in the region.
Set in a spectacular landscape and with iconic architecture from Irish architects, Heneghan Peng, it aspires to be a beacon of hope for Palestinians.
“We want to say: this is the past, but we’re here today and we want to come up with propositions for the future,” says Persekian.
Persekian and architect, Conor Sreenan, are interviewed about the design of The Palestinian Museum in the upcoming Q2 2015 issue of CLADmag.
