First Palestinian museum in US to open in Connecticut
Wafa News Agency — NEW HAVEN, March 25, 2018 (WAFA) – For the first time ever, a museum displaying the history, art and culture of the Palestinian people is expected to open within a few days in Woodbridge, an outskirt of New Haven in Connecticut, being the first of its kind in the Americas.
Faisal Saleh, executive director of Palestine Museum US, told reporters that he believes the museum will offer a fuller and more intricate picture of the Palestinian land and people than Americans see in mainstream media.
“The mission of the museum is to preserve Palestinian history and celebrate the artistic achievement of Palestinians in the US and Palestine and tell the Palestinian story through art and literature and other forms of artistic expression,” Saleh said in a statement.
Suzan Bushnaq’s works are now mounted in Palestine Museum US. Based in Kuwait, Bushaq uses vibrant color and an impressionistic approach to express the multifaceted vitality of women.
“The history will be presented through photographs and art,” Saleh said. “It will not take any political posture and political position on issues… It will be quite independent and will not be influenced by any political organizations.”
Saleh, who hails from al-Bireh city in the occupied West Bank, said while there are similar Palestinian museums elsewhere, including in Birzeit in the West Bank and Bristol in England, this museum will be the first of its kind in the United States.
“Eventually we can see a larger museum in a major city like Washington, D.C., or New York,” he said. Saleh added that Woodbridge was chosen because “there was some opportunity to have some space there without spending a lot of money.”
He continued, “We feel that moving the dialogue or the discourse from the political arena to the artistic and cultural arena can be more beneficial and more effective.”
“The Palestinians have been dehumanized and portrayed in very negative ways. Our job is to show that Palestinians are human, like everybody else, and they have thousands of artists, they excel in the arts.”
Click here to view the website of the Palestine Museum in the US.
Click here to view the Palestine Museum USA Facebook Page.
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