Education programmes of "Jerusalem Lives" exhibition

The Palestinian Museum presents five new education programmes on the occasion of its inaugural exhibition, JERUSALEM LIVES. A key component is engaging and encouraging the audience to rethink their active role as individuals in the making of the city. These programmes aim to spark the imagination and critical thinking of the participants, inviting them to express themselves both poetically and aesthetically. Participants will not only interact with the central exhibition and the commissioned site specific outdoor artworks, they will also develop productions of their own making that reflect their aspirations for a better future in Jerusalem.

The JERUSALEM LIVES education programme will translate into a series of initiatives, including three educational films made available online for free as a public source of information and documentation for a wide global audience; a permanent didactic installation created in the Silwan Club in Jerusalem; and the Palestinian Museum ambassadors. The programme seeks to champion values of dialogue, freedom of expression, resistance, and the necessity of making public interventions.

Programmmes

School Visits
The Museum will host 30 school groups from public, private and UNRWA schools. Students ages 11 to 14 will have the opportunity to explore the political, economical, ideological, cultural and environmental aspects of globalization in Jerusalem through a programme designed specifically for each age, allowing children and young adults to research, watch, listen, reflect and create. Students will be taken on a discovery journey through the aesthetics and creativity behind the commissioned artworks exhibited in the Museum. They will participate in a Treasure Hunt, an entertaining and educational game that fosters openness, imagination and an appreciation of nature. A Teachers’ Companion with suggested activities following the groups’ visit to the Museum, will be handed out to teachers in order to help their students envision alternative forms of resistance to hegemony and exclusion.

Family Encounters with Artists
Three specialized workshops will be offered for families and a wide audience on the first and last Friday of each month in September, October and November 2017. Each session will be inspired by the practice of one of the commissioned artists, in an effort to open art education to the local communities, promote the exchange of ideas and the proactive role of the individual in channelling life back into the city of Jerusalem. The workshops will cover a wide spectrum of artistic media and broach the themes explored in the exhibition, including the drafting of a new map of Jerusalem, the tradition of storytelling using props, and the building of a playhouse using upcycled wood. The workshop sessions will be documented in the form of an educational film subsequently made available to all for free online.

Universities Programme: Get to Know the Palestinian Museum
‘Get to Know the Palestinian Museum’ will begin with the set up of an information booth at Birzeit University. The design of the booth will illustrate the identity of the new institution, beginning with a sign that reads: Where Are the Borders of Jerusalem? This metaphorical question will re-ignite the conversation and encourage dialogue within the students’ body. All the Palestinian Museum of Art educational programmes will be open to academics and students alike from Birzeit, Al-Najah and Al-Quds universities, the museum’s three partner institutions. Trips making it easier for students to visit the museum wil be organized periodically, setting the basis of future shared education programmes and collaborations.

Open Day at The Palestinian Museum
On September 22 and October 13, 2017, the Palestinian Museum will launch Open Day, a new programme offering visitors an opportunity to visit the museum —its inaugural exhibition ‘Jerusalem Lives’—, and learn about the various activities offered to the public. As part of this initiative, 10 craftsman stations, inspired by the commissioned artworks, will be showcased in a dedicated space at the museum. The Palestinian Museum will also partner with artists and Jerusalemite institutions to host three performances and a film screening that build on the general themes of the exhibition.

Training Programme
In July a call for volunteers and tour guides from the Ramallah area was announced to contribute to the making and running of the Palestinian Museum and its inaugural exhibition ‘Jerusalem Lives’. This programme aims to build a new arts and culture community around the museum and its programme of exhibitions and activities, one that relies on the potential and the interests of its members. While working as guides and developing their communication skills, volunteers will also be able to get acquainted and gain new qualifications in museum management. The Museum will provide professional training on how to interact with the visitors and participants of ‘Jerusalem Lives’. The volunteer programme will be an enriching, community-building experience for all involved.