JERUSALEM LIVES (TAHYA ALQUDS)
In light of what Jerusalem continues to face from exclusionary policies enforced by militarization and closure, the Palestinian Museum has created a multi-faceted project and exhibition, JERUSALEM LIVES, which aims to focus on the living aspect of the city and support its people. The exhibition attempts to examine the city of Jerusalem as a case study metaphorically representing globalization and its failures, and find answers to inspire a better future. Veering away from clichés, the exhibition exposes the neoliberal, colonial and imperial challenges imposed by the Israeli occupation that Jerusalem and its people are facing. Could the title Tahya Al Quds be transformed from a mere slogan into an invitation to present real content and support for life in the city? What are the stories of collective resistance? How do we make Jerusalem live?
This research part of the exhibition metaphorically represents how the roots of globalization take shape in the city of Jerusalem, only to fail miserably. How does this quintessential universal city, home to the three world religions, become forsaken and lifeless? The Israeli occupation, with its systematic policies of control, exclusion and annexation, is annihilating the very fabric of global, diverse and lively Jerusalem. The Palestinian community living in the city struggles to salvage their basic rights, while the world not only turns a blind eye but accepts the injustices inflicted upon Palestinians in Jerusalem without question. To understand this failing militarized version of Jerusalem is to also understand the failings of other major cities such as Paris, London or New York, where segregation, security and surveillance stifle the diversity of their urban and social fabrics, becoming the norms of a new controlled global order.
The central exhibition will be divided into five sections that study the phenomena of globalization as applied to Jerusalem, from an economic, political, ideological and cultural standpoint. It highlights the collective ways people have resisted this hegemonic order of depriving them of their rights and rendering the city bereft of life. The focus will be on demonstrating the work of civic institutions in Jerusalem that have adopted a long-term approach of perseverance and resistance.
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