The art of resistance: art and resistance in Palestine

Abstract

Resistance can take many forms. In Palestine, to exist is to resist. For the last fifty-four years Palestinians have found many inventive and innovative ways to resist the Israeli occupation, and one of those ways, but certainly not the only, is art. Palestinian art and the Israeli occupation walk hand in hand insomuch that and the historical and political encounters of the conflict have influenced the Palestinian cultural scene and vice versa. This article aims to explore how art, in its various forms, is part of the arsenal of everyday resistance techniques employed by the Palestinian. It addresses not only how art has challenged the outcomes of the conflict, but also how the conflict has impacted the Palestinian artistic scene. To this end, it explores the case of contemporary Palestinian graffiti as a relevant tool of resistance that provides an insight into the nature of Palestinian resistance but also into the evolution of the conflict itself.