On Location 2023

On Location, Gaza (2023)

When words fail, art speaks. Our On Location exhibition introduces leading visual artists from Gaza and explores the motivations, frustrations and realities of being artists under siege. Your donation will help us take On Location to more places and tell the stories of the Gazan artists celebrated in the exhibition.

Main image:
Duaa Qishta | Portes Du Triomphe | 300x200cm (2022)

Project coordinator:
James Walmsley for Amos Trust

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15th May 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, when 750,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes in the historic land of Palestine. Under international law, these Palestinians have the right to return to their homes, but 75 years later, they are still waiting.

The Gaza Strip is home to over 2 million people trapped in a small area of just 365 km2. Over 1.4 million of them are descendants of refugees from 1948. To mark this anniversary, we have added eight new remarkable Gazan artists to our On Location gallery.

Each artist has overcome so many hurdles to create these works of incredible beauty and insight. As you study their work and read their biographies, we hope that you will share our excitement at being able to show this work.

Many of these pieces challenge our expectations and remind us of the creativity flourishing in Gaza today. They also allow us to glimpse why, 75 years after the Nakba, promoting Palestinian culture is vital in maintaining Palestinian identity and demanding Palestinian rights.

We hope you will join us in celebrating the creativity and resilience of the Palestinian people.

Chris Rose
Director, Amos Trust

View the 2023 gallery

Our 2023 On Location Artists

Palestine Justice

Zainab Al-Qolaq On Location

At precisely 1 am on 16th May 2021, Israeli jets bombarded a densely populated residential area in the centre of Gaza City. Zainab was trapped under the rubble of her apartment block for 12 hours. She lost 22 members of her family in the attack. At the launch of her exhibition, she said, “I hope that you will not praise my paintings or document my achievement with joy. Instead, I hope you will help me spread my cause and raise my voice to hold this occupier to account.”

Palestine Justice

Mahmoud Alhaj On Location

Mahmoud uses medicinal blister packs to construct intelligent, sophisticated and meticulous architectural cityscapes. The symbolism of the impact of the ongoing conflict in Gaza and its affect on mental health is profound. A recent report by Save the Children stated that over 80% of children in Gaza suffer from mental health problems.

Palestine Justice

Mohammed Alhaj On Location

“Mohammed’s characters feel anonymous. The figures appear of varying origins — endless and with infinite colour. They are shadow characters with no rights in soil, sea, or sky. The displaced and alienated move through hazy colour spaces as if from a dream. They are escaping a brutal and painful reality in a desperate search for peace.”

Palestine Justice

Maha Daya On Location

Picasso stated: “Every act of creation begins with an act of destruction.” This is horribly true of Maha Daya’s paintings which document the consequences of Israeli warplanes’ strikes on Gaza. There is no beauty or life in these haunting artworks. The buildings have not collapsed. They are defiant and resilient and refuse to fall. They are monuments to injustice and devastation.

Palestine Justice

May Murad On Location

“My current work is an echo of my exiled self. The employment of digital windows and messages is emblematic of my artistic method. My screen connects me to the world but detaches me from it. Although I no longer live in Gaza, I am still affected by feelings of isolation and captivity. My artwork is a dialogue with a new reality and a pursuit of an evasive happiness.”

Palestine Justice

Duaa Qishta On Location

Duaa is a young artist exploring profound and powerful themes in her innovative and imaginative artworks. In her powerful Al-Awda Ice Cream series, Duaa created work that relates to when a government hospital in Gaza was bombed in 2014.

Palestine Justice

Mariam Salah On Location

Mariam bravely and fiercely creates artworks exploring the practice of Palestinian political prisoners smuggling sperm out of Israeli jails so that their wives can become pregnant. A doctor at a fertility clinic in Nablus stated that 22 women had undergone insemination using smuggled sperm. The success rate was low because of the difficulties of keeping sperm fresh during transportation from prisons in Israel to the West Bank.

Palestine Justice

Majed Shala On Location

These graceful, moving and poetic drawings show tenderness and fragility in the midst of war. Ghostly figures locked in a tender embrace, defiantly looking at the sky in resilience and dignity. Majed Shala beautifully documents the human and emotional cost of war in Gaza and its tragic consequences on relationships and everyday life.

Palestine Justice

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Ahlan Gaza (Welcome Gaza) follows the simple stories of people living in Gaza, people trying to live with dignity as their options close in on them each year.