Historical photographs from the Museum’s digital archive featured in an exhibition at the European Parliament marking the seventy-eighth anniversary of the Nakba.
Selected historical photographs from the Palestinian Museum Digital Archive were brought into the halls of the European Parliament at the initiative of European Parliament member Rima Hassan and her team to mark the seventy-eighth anniversary of the Nakba. Highlighting episodes of the Palestinian refugee experience and the role of refugee camps as sites where collective memory is preserved and passed down across generations, the exhibition connected the Nakba’s historical rupture to its continuing effects in Palestinian life today.
The archival photographs drew a varied audience—including members of the European Parliament, parliamentary staff, visitors, and students—into Palestinian history and the experiences of Palestinian refugees. Hassan noted, “It was the first time that a photographic exhibition on the Nakba was displayed on the premises of the European Parliament, representing an important step towards the official recognition of the Nakba and its continuity. The exhibition was very well received: many people stopped by and asked questions, including about the digital archive itself.”
The Palestinian Museum Digital Archive continues to make the Museum’s collections available to researchers, institutions, and curators around the world, supporting cultural, research, and educational initiatives that keep Palestinian memory accessible. Through this work, it brings the plurality of Palestinian narratives and experiences into view and strengthens the presence of Palestinian history in cultural and scholarly spaces.
