This display of Mandate-era Palestinian and Lebanese artworks and crafts accompanies the book launch of Resurgent Nahda: The Arab Exhibitions in Mandate Jerusalem (Kaph Books, 2024), which explores the cultural and political significance of two major Arab exhibitions held in Jerusalem in 1933 and 1934. Organized under British colonial rule, these 1930s exhibitions asserted an Arab cultural presence in a rapidly changing political landscape, positioning Jerusalem as a vital node in a wider Arab network of artistic and intellectual exchange.

The book and accompanying display build on two earlier iterations: at the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramallah (2022) and at Darat al-Funun in Amman (2024). With each stop, the exhibition engages with artworks and archival materials drawn from local collections, revealing not only the cross-geographical boundaries of the Arab nahda but also the dispersal of Palestinian material culture as a result of the 1948 Nakba.

This Beirut edition continues that approach while also serving as an open call to local institutions and families who may hold relevant artworks, crafts or documents from the period.
These contributions may be included in a larger iteration of the exhibition set to be held at Dar El-Nimer in 2026.

Together, the book and exhibition invite a deeper reflection on the cultural lifeworlds that flourished in Jerusalem under, and despite, British colonial rule—and the broader Arab networks that sustained them.

Speakers: Nadi Abusaada, Kirsten Scheid

The artworks display will run until 21 June 2025.

Organised by with The Palestinian Museum