Gaza Is Alive

Tolhuistuin - Amsterdam 29 Sep - 29 Oct. 2024

A Heritage of Resilience and Innovation. A group exhibition with Taysir Batniji, Mary Ann Jaraisy & Hummus Academy

Gaza, a 6,000-year-old port city on the Mediterranean Sea, has been a center of culture, learning, and innovation throughout history. It was once a capital of the Philistine Pentapolis and famous for its “Gaza White Wine.” The city also produced figures such as Silvanus of Gaza, a bishop and martyr during the Great Persecution, and the scholars of the Gaza School of Rhetoric in late antiquity. Today, Gaza’s legacy continues with individuals such as Loay Elbasyouni, who helped create a helicopter that flies over Mars, and Taysir Batniji, an artist whose works have been exhibited in Paris, New York, Tokyo, and many other cities. Another Gazan, Majd Masharawi, has contributed to sustainable construction with her invention of Green Cake, building blocks made from rubble.

Despite these remarkable achievements, Gaza remains under siege. The water, air, land, animals, flora and infrastructure are being systematically destroyed, along with the rich archaeological layers and the memory of the people. Yet the spirit of Gaza remains unbroken, even in the face of destruction. Today, 50% of Gaza’s population is under the age of 18, and 40% is under the age of 14. Despite the ongoing genocide, urbicide and memoricide, Gaza’s 6,000 years of thought, art, design, cuisine and resilience continue to live on.