Urban Spaces Exhibit 'If I were a Patriot?’ Opens at Birzeit University Museum

Birzeit University Museum opened on September 20, 2014 a student exhibition entitled, “If I were a Patriot?,” which monitors urban environment shifts to places and buildings in Palestine.

Students and teachers of Birzeit University’s Department of Architecture, Al-Quds Bard College for Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the International Academy of Art Palestine investigated the transformation of the urban environment by exploring archives, alternative histories and narratives to specific spaces and buildings. The work unveils moments in history, probing the different temporalities of the city, which has witnessed a different set of social and cultural values and where Palestinian aspirations of liberation had different meaning.

The exhibition’s direction was inspired by the prison diaries of the writer and educator Khalil Sakakini, whereby he questions his loyalties to his inherited culture and his position towards the Ottoman administration at that time.

The exhibition was funded by the Prince Claus Fund, in partnership with the Department of Architecture - Birzeit University, Al-Quds Bard College for Liberal Arts and Sciences, the International Academy of Art Palestine, Palestinian Art Court - Al Hoash, Palestinian Circus School and Ramallah Municipality. Twenty-three students participated in the exhibition.

The exhibition featured historical moments when the urban environment had a different set of social and cultural values, and where aspirations for freedom had another meaning.