A cultural centre in Israel’s West Bank has adopted an artist and women-led approach to provide Palestinians with a platform for their struggle. Charlotte Jansen reports
On Al Khalil Road in Bethlehem stands the Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research (Dar Jacir). It is one of the few cultural spaces still open and active in the West Bank. It is easy to understand why.
The characteristic sanasil building, its garden shaded by olive trees, overlooks the concrete separation wall built by the Israeli military during the Second Intifada (2000-05). An Israeli checkpoint, staffed by military police—part of a network of hundreds of checkpoints West Bank residents must pass through every day—is close.
“Dar Jacir is often at the forefront of clashes between the youth and the Israeli army,” says its director, the artist Emily Jacir. But Jacir is used to operating under such circumstances; the recent and historic Israeli protests against Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government’s plans for judicial reform have had “zero impact” on their work, she says...Keep reading on The Art Newspaper.
On Al Khalil Road in Bethlehem stands the Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research (Dar Jacir). It is one of the few cultural spaces still open and active in the West Bank. It is easy to understand why.
The characteristic sanasil building, its garden shaded by olive trees, overlooks the concrete separation wall built by the Israeli military during the Second Intifada (2000-05). An Israeli checkpoint, staffed by military police—part of a network of hundreds of checkpoints West Bank residents must pass through every day—is close.
“Dar Jacir is often at the forefront of clashes between the youth and the Israeli army,” says its director, the artist Emily Jacir. But Jacir is used to operating under such circumstances; the recent and historic Israeli protests against Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government’s plans for judicial reform have had “zero impact” on their work, she says...Keep reading on The Art Newspaper.