Multiculturalism is a subject of the sound art works shown as a part of the exhibition. I saw it interesting how each artist represented the same topic in a different way. Thus it inspired me to think about multiculturalism in the Palestinian context, from the perspective of a Palestinian artist.
Palestine - the land situated on the crossroad between three continents: Europe, Africa and Asia – could be a great example of a place where many people with different backgrounds have always dwelt. The evidences of layers of different cultures – from Natufian through Canaanite, Philistine, Hebrew, Egyptian, Babylonian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Arabic, Crusader, Turkish and so on – could be seen here in any place around us.
I see the multiculturalism of Palestine similar to the agricultural terraces characteristic to this land - some of them have been cultivated since the ancient times in the same way as they are today. For me, multiculturalism is an accumulation of layers that when merged create the culture of Palestinian people, yet still keep certain group’s unique features. Thus we could state that Palestine is a country of turned pieces of different cultures sewed together to create the full and harmonious image of its society.
However, a group of strangers once decided to reach one of the down layers denying the other happenings of the history and thus denying existence of the Palestinian culture. That created a conflict of the century, which became the catastrophe for the entire population of Palestine – displacement, loss and fragmentation… and still today growing apartheid and injustice.
We thank Dr. George Rivera for organizing this and all the previous powerful exhibitions that undoubtedly add to the art scene of Palestine. We are also looking forward to see more. We appreciate all the artists for sharing their creative art works with us.
Johny Andonia
A Palestinian artist,
lecturer and gallery coordinator at Dar al-Kalima University College.
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