Preoccupations: Palestinian Landscapes

Preoccupations: Palestinian Landscapes is a contemporary art exhibition featuring work by Palestinian artists. Because land is a central subject in the Palestinian experience, landscape art reflects a variety of relationships with the earth, from exile and diaspora to occupation and siege. 

This is a traveling exhibition that will grow in size at each location. Curator Kathy Zarur is confident that wherever she looks, she will find local Palestinian artists who, in some way or another, produce art about land. If you are a Palestinian artist in Detroit, we want to know about you!

First shown in San Francisco in August 2019, Preoccupations will travel to Detroit in January 2020. In addition to painting, photography, and video, the exhibition will include a library of books about Palestinian art, culture, and history. We are designing events - workshops, tours, and conversations - to make your engagement with the art dynamic.

We are ready for you, Detroit! Are you ready for us? The first crucial step is fundraising. We need to cover the costs of shipping art, travel, and installation for the exhibition at the Holding House, a gallery in Southwest Detroit.

Curator Kathy Zarur will travel to Detroit to install the exhibition with the help of a local support team in January 2020. In the meantime, she is working to identify Palestinian artists living in and around Detroit.

Too often, discussion about Palestinian art, culture, and history is silenced. Preoccupations will provide the space for much-needed engagement and connection. This exhibition is a seed that we have planted, and we want it to grow!