Gaza Biennale - International Pavilion Partnerships
Decentralized biennial featuring Gazan artists' work during wartime, hosted at international venues across 18 global locations.
The Gaza Biennale is a groundbreaking decentralized art exhibition initiated in spring 2024 by artist collective Jabal Al Risan in collaboration with Gazan artists. This displaced biennial comprises works created by over 50 Gazan artists during the ongoing conflict with Israel. Due to the impossibility of hosting international artists in Gaza, the Biennale has inverted the traditional model by sending Palestinian artists' works to the world through 18 international 'pavilions' in locations including Ireland, Spain, Turkey, and New York. The initiative emerged from the Forbidden Museum of Jabal Al Risan in the West Bank, which itself became inaccessible due to military restrictions. Artist Tasneem Shatat, originally a mathematics major who became an artist in residence, spearheaded the concept while displaced from her Gaza home. The Biennale represents both artistic resistance and global solidarity, with participating artists creating works that represent their experiences of conflict and displacement. The project made history with the first press conference by visual artists during the war, held at Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital. The exhibition format allows Palestinian art to traverse borders just as war does, creating a powerful statement about art's role during catastrophe and genocide.