A new generation of Palestinian artists has come into being. Living in a complex time and space, these fifteen contemporary talents express a horizontal quality that builds bridges of empathy through their gaze and expression. The narrative ability and power of the stories they tell by way of their creations are the common thread tying together the exhibition. Tadafuq means “flowing,” despite all borders and barriers. It means rising up through an ingenious, collective, multidisciplinary tale.

The exhibition is made up of works by 15 contemporary Palestinian artists. This includes five artists

who represent each region of Palestine where these various contemporary creators hark from: Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem. The artists were selected from over 100 entries, through a contemporary art initiative implemented in Palestine as part of the prestigious European program “European Spaces for Culture,” with the participation of three local partners: Alhoash (Jerusalem), Sakakini (Ramallah) and GUCC (Gaza), as well as three international partners: the Spanish Consulate in Jerusalem/AECID, the French Institute in Palestine and the British Council in the Occupied Territories, with the collaboration of the EU Delegation in Palestine. Since 2020, this program is led annually by Nicolás Combarro, curator of the exhibition, as a development of an online program of contemporary art in the region, organized by AECID and the Consulate of Spain in Jerusalem.

This context has led most of the works to be given a sequential format in an audiovisual medium, allowing the public to go beyond the work, with the artists’ own voice accompanying their images. It is a self-referential approach that surprises with the depth and maturity of the story told, and for the diversity and fresh look found in the different works being shown.

The exhibition organized by Casa Árabe, to be opened in Madrid in September 2023 and in Cordoba in October, gives us the opportunity to get to know the artists who make up a new generation of Palestinian creators, from the vantage point of contemporary creation. The growing international interest in creative expression in this region is most notable, as we can see in other initiatives such as the important exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe, “Ce que la Palestine apporte au monde”, which will remain on display from May to November 2023 in Paris.