All Eyes on Palestine opens in Athens Contemporary Art as a tool of Resistance

ATHENS, 10 Dec. - (ANA) - The landmark exhibition of contemporary Palestinian art, All Eyes on Palestine, opens its doors on Thursday, 11 December 2025, in the heart of Athens’ historic centre (Karori 15 & Voreou 4). The exhibition honours 20 Palestinian artists born between the two Intifadas and now working in Gaza, the West Bank, France, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.

The artists negotiate the realities of occupation, exile, and resistance — responding to the violence and erasure of the Palestinian people with acts of creation.

Employing a wide range of visual practices — painting, drawing, printmaking, comics, illustration, photography, video, installation, performance, and multimedia — these artists transform personal and collective trauma into acts of testimony, creativity, and cultural affirmation. From hyperreal depictions of forced migration to interactive performances addressing refugee experiences, their works testify to the resilience of Palestinian culture under siege and to the vital role of art in preserving memory and identity.

The selection includes multidisciplinary artist Amer Shomali, co-director of the acclaimed illustrated documentary The Wanted 18 and director of the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit. Shomali explores revolutionary iconography through painting, film, and digital media. Visual and multimedia artist Sharif Waked investigates memory, power, and identity through video, photography, and digital painting. Palestinian-Danish artist Larissa Sansour combines video, photography, and installation with science-fiction narratives to negotiate exile, trauma, and collective identity. Also noteworthy is Bayan Abu Nahla, born in the new millennium, who portrays through poetic watercolours what remains in the eyes of survivors, as well as Malak Mattar, born in 1999 and already an iconic illustrator and artist of her generation.

Also participating (alphabetically): Mahmoud Alhaj, Mahasen Al-Khateeb (in memoriam), Shadi Alzaqzouq, Rana Bishara, Doris Hakim, Raed Issa, Monther Jawabreh, Mohammed Joha, Manal Mahamid, Duaa Qishta, Mohammad Saba’aneh, Shada Safadi, Shareef Sarhan, Basel Zaraa, and Hani Zurob. Collectively, their works include painting, drawing, illustration, installation, sculpture, comics, performance, photography, and digital media, reflecting the resilience, identity, and lived reality of Palestinians, while also bearing witness to history, exile, and cultural survival.

The exhibition is curated by Elettra Stamboulis, an Italian curator of Greek descent, writer, and cultural producer with extensive experience in contemporary art, comics, and socially engaged practices, with the support of Greek artist and activist Danae Stratou, president of the Center for Postcapitalist Civilization – m?ta, known for her large-scale installations in nature and her social initiatives, as well as Doris Hakim, Greek-Palestinian artist whose work explores borders, identity, and the intersections of personal and collective memory. “Palestinian art exists,” Stamboulis says. “Now it is time for Palestine to exist as well.”

The curatorial team has selected works that reveal the poetic clarity and political commitment of different generations of Palestinian artists. In a world where Palestinian voices are often silenced or marginalised, the exhibition All Eyes on Palestine asserts the visibility they are entitled to and their influence on contemporary art.

In an era marked by humanitarian crises and ongoing violence, All Eyes on Palestine demonstrates that art cannot remain silent. This exhibition is both a cultural intervention and an urgent act of testimony, presenting Palestinian art in all its diversity, innovation, and resilience.

The exhibition is enriched by a podcast featuring interviews with the artists, offering a way to hear their voices directly.

All Eyes on Palestine is hosted in a newly renovated three-storey neoclassical building generously offered by Fadi Otaqui, a Jordanian collector of Palestinian descent, and will run until 25 January 2026. Athens is the starting point of the exhibition, which will later travel to European countries, including the Netherlands and Italy.

The catalogue (Greek & English) is published by Topos Books.

As a non-profit initiative, any proceeds from artwork sales will go entirely to the artists. Additionally, the organisers have launched crowdfunding to cover production costs, with any surplus funds going toward supporting Palestine.

The exhibition is a co-production of the Center for Postcapitalist Civilization – m?ta, a research and cultural institution dedicated to exploring alternatives to capitalist structures through art and critical thought, and DiEM25, the transnational political movement for peace, social justice, and ecological transition through pan-European action.

Exhibition information:

Opening: 11 December 2025 at 7 pm

Duration: 12 December 2025 - 25 January 2026

Address: Karori 15 & Voreou 4, Athens