Gaza Beyond the Map: Activating Memory, Mapping from Diaspora

Within the con­text of the exhi­bi­ti­on Nazeh Map, Eye On Pales­ti­ne is orga­ni­zing a work­shop that acti­va­tes an engra­ved map of Gaza as a site of col­lec­ti­ve memo­ry and reflection.

The map, which tra­ces a geo­grap­hy that has been radi­cally trans­for­med, is appro­a­ched not as a fixed repre­sen­ta­ti­on, but as an archi­ve that no lon­ger ful­ly cor­res­ponds to lived rea­li­ty. Through this ses­si­on, par­ti­ci­pants — par­ti­cu­lar­ly from the Pales­ti­ni­an dias­po­ra — are invi­ted to re-enga­ge with Gaza by inscri­bing their own memo­ries onto the map: naming streets, mar­king pla­ces, tra­cing rou­tes, and recalling what per­sists beyond mate­ri­al destruction.

Using sim­ple tools such as notes, anno­ta­ti­ons, and small spa­ti­al mar­kers, the map beco­mes a sha­red surfa­ce whe­re memo­ry, absen­ce, and lived expe­rien­ce inter­sect. The­se con­tri­bu­ti­ons remain in pla­ce throug­hout the exhi­bi­ti­on, allo­wing the work to evol­ve over time into a col­lec­ti­ve, lay­e­red archi­ve sha­ped by the community.

The work­shop is devel­o­ped in dia­lo­gue with Fasi­la Col­lec­ti­ve, a plat­form that explo­res how know­led­ge is pro­du­ced from con­di­ti­ons of dis­pla­ce­ment and dias­po­ra. Within this fra­me­work, the ses­si­on is not only par­ti­ci­pa­to­ry but also reflec­ti­ve, ope­ning spa­ce to think together about map­ping, home, iden­ti­ty, and the ways in which geo­grap­hy con­ti­nues to exist through memo­ry when it can no lon­ger be ful­ly acces­sed or represented.

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