Freedom of movement is severely restricted for most Palestinians. Traveling through their own territory involves passing through checkpoints, barriers and many different surveillance systems. Within this context, travel or movement of any kind becomes not only a daily experience forming part of the occupation but also an act of resistance. From 2010 to 2026, artist and scholar Rehab Nazzal undertook the risky task of driving through occupied Palestine in its entirety. The result is an extensive photographic and audiovisual project that documents landscapes, sounds and realities rarely visible outside the territory, doing so with a great sense of rigor and urgency. 

Curated by Stefan St-Laurent, Driving Through Palestine creates a map of contemporary Palestine through Nazzal’s gaze. The roads she travels are marked by signposts and warnings that reveal conditions imposed by the occupiers. Thanks to the artist’s perseverance, a unique body of work has emerged, unveiling a fragmented geography while offering an essential testimonial about life under Israeli military control. 

This exhibition has resulted from Casa Árabe’s cooperation with the Canada Council for the Arts, the Saw Centre gallery in Ottawa and the Embassy of Canada in Madrid. The opening event forms part of the program of the annual conference held by the International Association for Middle East Studies (IAMES), founded in 1967, with sponsorship by the University of Calgary. 

Rehab Nazzal is a Palestinian-Canadian artist, researcher and scholar whose interdisciplinary practice includes photography, video, installations and sound art. Her work examines the consequences of military occupation, settler colonialism, environmental violence and policies of control over bodies and territories. Through long-term documentary and research methodologies, Nazzal explores the everyday experiences lived by Palestinian communities under occupation, as well as the relationships between memory, landscape and resistance. Her work has been exhibited around the world, forming part of a long-standing commitment to social justice, human rights and the production of knowledge from critical and de-colonial perspectives.