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The Founding Day celebrations concluded on Sunday evening, after being organized by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and the Principality of Riyadh region over four days, from February 20 to 23, 2025.
The event witnessed a high turnout, with over 50,000 visitors from various backgrounds.
The celebrations set a Guinness World Record for the largest Saudi Ardah performance, with 633 participants showcasing this traditional dance.
This achievement highlights the significance of Ardah as a deep-rooted national tradition, reflecting pride in Saudi identity and a commitment to preserving and promoting cultural heritage globally.
Renowned Lebanese novelist, journalist, critic and lifetime advocate of the Palestinian cause Elias Khoury died on Sunday aged 76. We delve into his life & work.
Elias Khoury (1948-2024), who died last Sunday in Beirut, once said: “I confess I’m scared. I’m scared of a history that has only one version. History has dozens of versions, and for it to ossify into one leads only to death.”
This sentence remains highly significant when it comes to defining the career of the Lebanese novelist, storyteller, critic, and journalist.
In his career, in both literary terms and human, as all of the above, he never ceased to experiment and innovate, but more than that, his work showed his deep preoccupation with the search for the meaning in history and events, and the significance of this aspect is evident in most of his literary works.
It was perhaps the Palestinian issue, which took on a central place in many of his works, where he probed the sufferings which had befallen the Palestinian people and the dilemma of their fragmentation.
He did this by intertwining the human and political dimensions using characters and events, which were both rooted in reality – yet brimming with imagination.
This style was among what imbued his works with a literary depth and created a unique experience for the reader.
The way he interwove these aspects allowed him to explore psychological, political and cultural worlds, through characters and events which in some cases seemed unconventional, often relying on the technique of polyphony (using multiple voices), and alternating between narrative and inner dialogue.
Time, as a concept in his novels, was often non-linear, reflecting the complexities of life and memory.
This style is clearly evident in novels like Yalo and Gate of the Sun, where his poetic prose infuses the narrative with an aesthetic beauty.
However, when it came to addressing issues around identity and belonging, Khoury often relied on the emotional depth of the characters and events to tackle these aspects; he dealt with Palestinian and Lebanese identity in relation to their background of political unrest, occupation, and displacement.
In this way, he offered ethical and philosophical insights into the meanings of belonging in a world beset by constant upheaval.
The theme of Palestinian asylum appears extensively in his most prominent works, rooted in the many stories he collected from refugee camps during the long years of Israel’s occupation.
Many critics consider his novel Gate of the Sun (“Bab Al-Shams”) (1998) to be the first epic work with regard to the Palestinian narrative, which gave voice to their unfinished journey and their continuing torment.
The novel Gate of the Sun was associated with a later youth-led experiment opposing settler colonialism in the Palestinian territories in 2013, where young Palestinian activists gave the novel’s name to a tent village they established that year on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Israeli forces demolished the site less than two days after it was erected.
In 2013, Khoury gave a speech from Beirut to a group of 250 Palestinian activists who had been involved in establishing the Gate of the Sun encampment.
He said among other things that day: “I will not say, ‘I wish I were with you,’ for I am with you … This is the Palestine that Yunis envisioned in the novel Bab Al-Shams.”
The stories in this novel, although told from the viewpoint of Khalil, one of its protagonists, are written as different versions of the same story, with the narrator moving back and forth with the passage of time, as he wrestles with the evasiveness of memory, and questions of motive and identity, which reflect the instability of the truth, and the impossibility of capturing even one version of it.
In one interview, Khoury said: “I discovered, to my surprise, that there were basically no written accounts of the war. There was no archive to consult, there were only the whispers you might hear at home—the Druze killed your grandfather, the Christians murdered your uncle, that kind of thing.
“To me, this lack of a specifically written past meant that we Lebanese had no present, either. I’m not interested in memory as such, I’m interested in the present. But to have a present, you have to know which things to forget and which things to remember. Our lack of written history made me feel that I didn’t even know the country I grew up in. I didn’t know my place in it.
“I don’t think I made any great discoveries as a historian, but when I began writing novels, a few years later, I found that I wanted to write the present—the present of our own civil war.”
In his novel, White Masks (1981), which he wrote during the Lebanese Civil War, Khoury used a journalistic style to portray the physical devastation wrought on Beirut, its buildings and infrastructure, and the psychological toll of the war on its residents. He dealt with issues rarely addressed by Arabic novelists at that time, like women’s rights, societal restrictions and religion.
Moreover, in his novels, Khoury did not simply describe the horrors that took place, but went further: he went into their impact on people, nature and relationships.
The relevance of the colour white in this novel is in its ability to reveal; its symbolism of light, which exposes things as they are, revealing scenes with all the absurdity, tragedy, and madness they contain.
Khoury did this, letting us read into phenomena and what lay behind them, to understand what was happening around us, so that we would not unwittingly become tools in a game in which we had no choice but compliance; to perform a part.
This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition. To read the original article click here
Translated by Rose Chacko
This article is taken from our Arabic sister publication, Al-Araby Al Jadeed and mirrors the source’s original editorial guidelines and reporting policies. Any requests for correction or comment will be forwarded to the original authors and editors
Have questions or comments? Email us at: info@alaraby.co.uk
Technology Innovation Institute says model is ‘one of the most advanced Arabic’ offerings.
Concerns that Arabic might be left behind in the fast-developing AI sector are starting to evaporate with the introduction of the Falcon Arabic language model, created in Abu Dhabi.
The model was unveiled on Wednesday by the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) , an Abu Dhabi government-backed research centre which first introduced its Falcon large language model back in 2023.
Faisal Al Bannai, adviser to the UAE President for Strategic Research and Advanced Technology Affairs, spoke about the development as a leap forward for Arabic at the UAE’s Make it in the Emirates event.
“We’re proud to finally bring Arabic to Falcon, and prouder still that the best-performing large language model in the Arab world was built in the UAE,” he said.
According to TII, Falcon Arabic is trained on a native (non-translated) Arabic data set that covers both Modern Standard Arabic and regional dialects.
“It captures the full linguistic diversity of the Arab world,” said TII.
The research centre also said that so far the model outperforms other Arabic language models.
Large language models are complex systems designed to be trained on large amounts of text and data that help AI implementations identify patterns, come to conclusions and even understand nuances. In short, the models can make or break the user experience with AI.
Although Arabic is spoken by about 400 million people worldwide, it was not initially a focus during the initial growth of AI and large language models, with English the most prevalent.
The complexity and diversified Arabic dialects, coupled with various language nuances, posed a challenge for engineers and programmers trying to perfect machine learning technologies.
In recent years, the UAE has sought to bolster Arabic’s presence in the AI race.
In 2023, Jais, an open-source bilingual Arabic-English model, was introduced by G42, Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and Silicon Valley-based Cerebras Systems.
Later that year, Jais Climate , the world’s first bilingual large language model dedicated to climate intelligence was also announced.
In addition to Falcon Arabic, TII also announced on Wednesday the release of its Falcon H1 model, which it says “outperforms comparable offerings from Meta’s LLaMA and Alibaba’s Qwen, enabling real-world AI on everyday devices and in resource-limited settings”.
The research centre explained that efficiency was at the core of Falcon H1 development.
“This fundamentally shifts what’s possible at the smallest scale, enabling powerful AI on edge devices where privacy, efficiency, and low latency are critical,” said Hakim Hacid, chief researcher at the TII AI and digital science research centre.
“It demonstrates how new architectures can unlock new opportunities in AI training while showcasing the potential of ultra-compact models.”
Chef Mostafa Seif of Khufu’s has been awarded the Skillet of Distinction by The Best Chef Awards, becoming the first Egyptian chef to receive the accolade. The award follows Seif’s recognition last year as the first Egyptian to earn a one-knife “Excellent” rating under the awards’ updated tiered system.
The Best Chef Awards, which moved away from its traditional top-100 ranking in 2023, now recognises chefs through one, two, or three “knives,” denoting levels of excellence. Seif’s one-knife placement in Dubai was the first for an Egyptian chef and signalled growing international attention to his work.
At Khufu’s – founded by Pier 88 Hospitality’s Giovanni Bolandrini – Seif leads a kitchen grounded in technical discipline and regionally sourced ingredients. His cooking is rooted in Egyptian culinary traditions but avoids nostalgia or showmanship, favouring clarified broths, cured seafood, and slow-roasted meats that reflect a restrained, detail-oriented approach.
In January, Seif participated in The World’s 50 Best Signature Sessions in Abu Dhabi, where he co-hosted a dinner with Argentinian chef Sergio Cabrera at MouzMari. He also joined 50 Best Talks for a panel titled Memory on a Plate, exploring the role of food in cultural and personal memory.
The Skillet of Distinction acknowledges Seif’s consistency in the kitchen and his contribution to platforming Egyptian cuisine in international settings – through technique rather than adaptation.
The King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, known as Darah, has released a new book on the history of the adhan (call to prayer) and biographies of the muezzins of the Two Holy Mosques throughout the centuries.
The book was authored by Sheikh Dr. Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid, member of the Council of Senior Scholars and imam and preacher at the Grand Mosque.
It meticulously examines the adhan ritual in the Two Holy Mosques, covering its origins, virtues, and significance, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The book is divided into three sections: the adhan’s history, biographies of 95 Grand Mosque muezzins, and 147 Prophet’s Mosque muezzins.
It presents biographies of muezzins who have issued the call to prayer from the time of Prophet Muhammad to the present, the SPA reported.
Drawing on credible historical sources and interviews, the author used a scientific approach to document the evolution of adhan tools and the relationship between the muezzin and the mosque.
The book also highlights the Saudi government’s support in selecting skilled muezzins and using advanced audio technology for local and global broadcasts.
This publication enriches the foundation’s collection, serving as a vital resource for researchers and those interested in the history of the Two Holy Mosques and Islamic rituals.
Egypt’s presence at Cannes Film Market wins top honour for design, programming, and industry engagement.
The Egyptian pavilion at Cannes Film Market, headed by a joint cooperation between El Gouna Film Festival, Cairo International Film Festival and the Egyptian Film Commission, has won the award for Best Pavilion Design Award during the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
Designed by cinematic set designer Shereen Farghal, and recognised over competing pavilions from 150 nations, the Egyptian pavilion was awarded for its design, curated programming, and strategic networking opportunities offered to Arab and international filmmakers.
“This award is a global recognition of the position Egyptian cinema occupies today, and of the continuous efforts we make to represent it in international contexts,” Hussein Fahmy, President of Cairo International Film Festival, said. “We made sure that the pavilion reflects the spirit of cooperation and openness to the world through a program full of dialogue, and cultural and artistic interaction, and represents a new step for Egypt’s presence in the global film industry.”
Held annually in parallel with the Cannes Film Festival, Marché du Film is a key space for co-productions, distribution deals, and film financing.
The Moroccan Poets Festival concluded its sixth edition after three days of illustrious writing and celebrating the word.
The closing ceremony was held at the National School of Crafts and Arts in Tetouan, in the presence of Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of Sharjah Department of Culture; Professor Mohammed Ibrahim Al Qaseer, Director of the Cultural Affairs Department at the Department; Rachid Al Mustafa, Head of the Cooperation Department in the Culture Sector at the Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture, and Communication; Dr. Youssef Al Fahri, President of the Higher School of Teachers in Martil; Mukhlis Al Sagheer, Director of the House of Poetry in Tetouan; and a large number of writers, intellectuals, and university students.
Al Sagheer pointed out that the Moroccan Poets Festival strives to innovate with each new edition, and to grow in poetry and cultural resonance in the Arab world. He highlighted that the sixth edition enjoyed a prominent official presence, alongside a public audience with a passion for poetry and art.
He explained that the House of Poetry in Tetouan, founded in 2016, affirms its tireless efforts to organise a distinguished seventh edition next year, to celebrate its tenth anniversary.
Participants in the Moroccan Poets Festival agreed that Sharjah has become a pioneering model in supporting Arab culture and actively contributing to shaping a new generation of Arab intellectuals. They emphasised that Sharjah’s cultural, intellectual, and cultural achievements over the past decades were not a coincidence, but rather the result of the broad cultural vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. His Highness believes that culture is the cornerstone of human and societal development.
Participants believe that Sharjah’s experience represents a model to be emulated, as it has not only supported cultural production but has also strived to create an integrated knowledge environment that attracts new generations and instils in them a love of reading, thinking, and criticism. They explained that many young Arabs who have benefited from Sharjah’s cultural experiences have now become prominent voices in the fields of literature, thought, and the arts.
The second day of the festival featured a critical symposium titled “Poetry and the Performing Arts”. The speakers emphasised that when poetry is recited on stage, or combined with movement or music, it transforms into a performance art. This is where what is known as “the poetics of performance” emerges, where poetry emerges from the page and is embodied through the body, voice, gaze, and silence. They noted that at this moment, literature intersects with the live arts, providing the recipient with a multi-sensory artistic experience.
Speakers emphasised the intersection of poetry and performance, where word meets movement, voice meets silence. This is when a magic called the poetics of the performing arts is born; where the poem becomes a vibrant body, and the scene becomes a visual poem that is read by the eye and felt by the heart.
The Moroccan Poets Festival has an exceptional section, bringing the audience together with visually impaired poets at the Taha Hussein Institute in Tetouan, in a poetic and humane moment where poetry met with a number of visually impaired creatives who drew inspiration from life’s features and, from its details, wove their vast worlds.
The festival saw the participation of more than 40 poets, poetesses, intellectuals, and artists amidst a festive atmosphere of poetry and its creators. It honoured 83 students in a poetry writing workshop organised by the House of Poetry in Tetouan, in collaboration with the Faculty of Arabic Language at the Higher Teachers’ School in Martil.
Eighteen students were also honoured in the regional competition for Arabic Language Pioneers, organised by the House of Poetry in collaboration with more than 37 secondary and middle school educational institutions.
In collaboration with Google Cloud, Media City Qatar’s initiative, ‘Qatar ArtBeat,’ united the nation’s voices to create a groundbreaking AI-generated artwork.
Qatar National Day marks the unification of the nation in 1878—a defining moment in its history. Celebrated annually on December 18, it is a day to honour Qatar’s rich heritage and look ahead to its boundless aspirations for the future.
At Media City Qatar, we asked ourselves: How can we celebrate this cherished tradition while embracing the innovations that shape tomorrow? How can we bridge the past and the future, merging tradition with technology, to unite our people in a shared celebration?
The answer was ‘Qatar ArtBeat’.
A groundbreaking activation in partnership with Google Cloud, this initiative brought together the collective voices of the nation to generate an AI artwork co-created by the nation. This innovative project marked a historic milestone, merging culture and technology in an unprecedented way.
‘Qatar ArtBeat’ not only captured the collective spirit of Qatar but also set a Guinness World Records™ for the “Most People Contributing to an AI-Generated Image,” with over 15,000 contributions, more than 5.4 million people reached, and in excess of 68,000 engagements from across the country. This milestone showcases the potential of technology to unify communities and amplify their voices on a scale never seen before.
Celebrating innovation and tradition
‘Qatar ArtBeat’ invited citizens and residents to share their reflections on what Qatar means to them between December 9 and December 17 through Media City Qatar’s social media channels.
Additionally, public conversations on various platforms were analysed, with responses processed by Google Cloud’s advanced AI technology—such as Vertex AI platform, Gemini models, and BigQuery data platforms. This cutting-edge process transformed sentiments found in social media comments and posts into a cohesive and breathtaking artwork co-created by the nation, for the nation.
The final masterpiece, unveiled on December 18, became a visual narrative of Qatar’s collective aspirations and creativity. The initiative perfectly symbolised the harmony between the nation’s traditions and modern innovation, showcasing how technology can preserve and celebrate cultural identity in meaningful ways.
By engaging communities across Qatar, the activation demonstrated how digital platforms can foster inclusivity, accessibility, and collaboration. This activation ensured that every voice contributed to the nation’s story, transforming individual reflections into a collective celebration of shared values and unity.
Pioneering the future of digital media
As a catalyst for next-generation media and technology, Media City Qatar connects media companies, entrepreneurs, innovators, and creative talents to shape the future of the industry.
Our focus spans gaming, news, digital and social media, media technologies, content localization, animation, broadcasters, production and post-production, and publishing. We take particular pride in fostering initiatives that celebrate Arabic-language content, uniting tradition with modern innovation.
By encouraging enterprises that specialise in the Arabic language or seek to expand into Qatar and the Middle East, Media City Qatar continues to champion the region’s voice on a global stage.
‘Qatar ArtBeat’ exemplified this mission, setting a new benchmark as the first-of-its-kind initiative in Qatar—and possibly worldwide—that achieved a new world record.
The project also highlighted the transformative potential of generative AI in storytelling and community engagement. By leveraging Google Cloud’s advanced technology, reflections were seamlessly transformed into art, reinforcing the significance of human input in creating impactful digital experiences.
A legacy for Qatar and beyond
As we look to the future, we imagine the children of today—tomorrow’s dreamers and innovators—continuing to celebrate the heritage of this great nation.
‘Qatar ArtBeat’ is a promise that Qatar’s story will be told in new and imaginative ways for generations to come. At Media City Qatar, where next is made, we are proud to help shape that future, blending tradition and technology to inspire the Qatar of tomorrow.
The Kingdom of Bahrain’s Heatwave exhibition , curated by architect Andrea Faraguna has been announced as the winner of the Golden Lion for the Best National Participation at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.
The winner has been selected by an international jury comprising of Swiss curator, critic, and art historian Hans Ulrich Obrist as jury chair, South African architect, lecturer, and curator Mpho Matsipa, and Italian curator Paola Antonelli .
The awards ceremony is broadcast live from the headquarters of the Biennale at Ca’Giustinian. The pavilion stands out for addressing the pressing issue of extreme heat through a site-specific installation that showcases passive cooling strategies rooted in Bahrain’s climatic realities and cultural context.
The design of the pavilion explores passive cooling using geothermal wells and solar chimneys connected via a thermo-hygrometric axis, which links underground conditions to outdoor air. In exhibition settings where excavation isn’t possible, mechanical ventilation mimics this system. The modular structure features a floor and cantilevered ceiling supported by a central column, adaptable for various urban environments. The project highlights low-impact, climate-responsive design for outdoor workspaces in hot climates, emphasizing environmental responsibility, social fairness, and innovative architectural solutions.
The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement and the Special Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Memoriam have been previously announced to be awarded to American philosopher Donna Haraway and the late Italian architect and designer Italo Rota (1953–2024), respectively. Donna Haraway is participating via remote connection to highlight the wider implications of this edition’s biennale. “Intelligence is a word that bubbles with meaning of the power of discerning,” she declares. The Golden Lion in Memoriam is awarded in absentia to Italo Rota.
Two special mentions have been awarded to participants in the international exhibition. The first one goes to Alternative Urbanism: The Central Organized Markets of Lagos by Tosin Oshinowo, Oshinowo Studio. “This award is for the Global South,” Oshinowo declares in her acceptance speech. The second special mention for a project of a participant goes to Elephant Chapel by Boonserm Premthada.
For the national pavilions, a special mention is awarded to Opera Aperta, the Holy See’s Pavilion by Paul Tighe of the Department of Education and Culture of the Holy See. The project is a “construction site, an ongoing process, which everyone is invited to collaborate.” The pavilion is curated by Marina Otero Verzier, curator and researcher, and Giovanna Zabotti, artistic director of Fondaco Italia and former curator of the Venice Pavilion, in collaboration with the design studios Tatiana Bilbao Estudio of Mexico City and MAIO Architects of Barcelona.
The other special mention goes to the Pavilion of Great Britain: GBR: Geology of Britannic Repair, commissioned by Sevra Davis of the British Council and curated by Owen Hopkins, Kathryn Yusoff, Kabage Karanja, Stella Mutegi. The selected team of expositors comprises experts from the UK and Kenya, including Nairobi–based Cave _bureau, aiming to open up difficult conversations about interconnected relationships between the two countries, decolonization, and the embedded relationships to the ground.
Golden Lion for Best Participant in the exhibition Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective
Golden Lion for Best Participant in the exhibition Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective is awarded to Canal Café by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Natural Systems Utilities, SODAI, Aaron Betsky, Davide Oldani. The installation is set up to use natural filtration systems to purify water from the city’s canals and make it info coffee that visitors of the Arsenale can enjoy.
In an interview with The New Arab, Nahil Bishara’s grandchildren speak about their grandmother’s artistic legacy and her role in preserving Palestinian identity.
History is full of remarkable yet forgotten women whose stories have yet to be told.
One such case is the late Palestinian artist and designer Nahil Bishara, an active and erudite woman who sought to preserve her Palestinian identity through endless creativity despite living through constant political instability in her homeland.
“Generally, artists at the time created art to sell, but she never created art to sell. She created art to anchor her Palestinianness”
Nearly three decades after Nahil Bishara’s passing, her grandchildren are ready to share her story with the world.
“She was always up to something artistic,” the artist’s UAE-based grandson, Assad Bishara, told The New Arab.
“She was somebody who wanted to master any kind of artistic medium she could get onto her hands. Whatever she got her hands on, she created something out of it,” Assad added.
Echoing this sentiment is his sister, Talia Bishara, a public relations specialist in culture, who fondly remembers her grandmother as a woman of taste of the Sixties era.
“She was an elegant woman, whose hair was styled in a chignon with a million pins,” recalled Talia.
“She wanted to project an image. Her persona in society was also very important. Generally, artists at the time created art to sell, but she never created art to sell. She created art to anchor her Palestinianness.”
From Ramallah to Jerusalem
Nahil was born in Ramallah in 1919, shortly after the end of the First World War, and spent most of her life in Jerusalem, where she nurtured her artistic talent.
In 1940, at the age of 21, the artist married Dr Assad Bishara, a renowned gynaecologist who, as Talia claimed, “a whole generation of Palestinians were born under his hands.”
According to Talia, Dr Assad was open-minded and supportive of his wife’s dreams.
As Talia puts it, “Whenever I speak about my grandmother, I have to speak about my grandfather too. He was a larger-than-life person. He wasn’t the type that restricted her to staying at home and raising a family. She did those things, but on top of that, she was exploring her artistic talent and supporting her community of Palestinian women.”
Beyond her personal achievements, Nahil also lived through important political events of the twentieth century, including the Nakba — the mass displacement of Palestinians — which led to the Israeli occupation in 1948.
‘A force and an avant-gardiste’
During this period, Nahil was offered a rare opportunity to study in England, but she refused, choosing instead to remain in her country as an act of defiance.
A woman who made history, she became the first Arab and Palestinian to study art at the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem, which had been founded as a Jewish art institution in the early 1900s.
Interestingly, at the time, Nahil was one of the few Palestinian artists to formally study art. But her education didn’t stop there.
Always striving to expand her mind and skill set, she undertook a design course by correspondence with an American university in Washington, DC. Then, in the 1960s, Nahil found herself in the Italian city of Perugia, where she studied classical painting and ceramics.
Known for always being on the move, Talia shared, “All her life, my grandmother loved art. She was a force and an avant-gardiste. She wanted to be ahead of everyone in her time.”
‘She wanted to constantly create’
To this day, Nahil is remembered as a Renaissance woman.
The educated artist spoke four languages (including Italian and French), tried her hand at stitching, woodworking, and glassblowing, hosted cultured dinners, volunteered at refugee camps, and mastered interior decoration.
Her most significant project was decorating the interior of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) building in Jerusalem, which was later converted by the Israelis into a hotel called Aelia Capitolina. Today, the hotel is known as the Legacy Hotel.
“People were visiting Jerusalem from all over the world. I think she felt a responsibility to show the world a different image of Palestine”
By using locally sourced materials, Nahil designed its chandelier (made with Palestinian refugees), crafted wooden tables, and donated around 30 of her paintings to the establishment.
“I think she saw that there was power in creation, rather than focusing on destruction. She wanted to constantly create,” explained Talia.
“People were visiting Jerusalem from all over the world. I think she felt a responsibility to show the world a different image of Palestine.”
Another momentous event in Nahil’s career occurred in 1964 when she was commissioned by the Kingdom of Jordan to create a bust of Pope Paul VI in honour of his pilgrimage to Palestine. Today, the bust sits in the Vatican.
‘Capturing everything she could to preserve Palestine’
Exploring Nahil’s artistic legacy, she was known for creating religious landscapes, depictions of Palestinian refugees, and floral arrangements, the latter of which her husband particularly enjoyed.
“She was concerned with the preservation of identity because it was being erased”
Her grandchildren believe that her art carries a strong message beneath the surface, with Assad sharing, “For her, it was about capturing everything she could to preserve Palestine. She was concerned with the preservation of identity because it was being erased.”
During The New Arab’s interview, Talia showed her grandmother’s artwork of female refugees, one of whom is holding a child, painted in 1948.
Talia explained that she was literally holding a piece of history in her hands, adding, “When I watch the news today, it’s like history is repeating itself,” referring to the ongoing bombardment in Gaza.
“A portion of our civil society has been cut off and turned into refugees who live in tents, and this was something that had to be captured,” commented Assad on the theme of displacement in Nahil’s art.
Celebrating a forgotten artist
In 1997, Nahil died of cancer, yet her memory remains alive in the hearts and minds of her family and friends.
Recently, the once-forgotten Nahil has slowly been re-entering the public sphere. Thanks to Talia, Nahil’s name now appears in Google searches, and some of her artworks have found homes in public cultural institutions, such as the Barjeel Art Foundation in the UAE and Dar El Nimer in Lebanon.
According to Talia, some museums have expressed interest in acquiring Nahil’s work since she became more vocal in sharing her grandmother’s story.
For Talia, this recognition has motivated her to one day publish a catalogue of Nahil’s artworks.
“My whole life I wanted to do something for her,” Talia said.
“I didn’t study art but I know its importance and can feel it. I started connecting with art people, but it wasn’t an easy journey. It fuelled me even more after the 7 October attacks,” she added.
“Everyone should be interested in championing these names and putting them on the stage because you need the past… The past is your present. It’s our role to preserve it.”
