Emily Jacir facts for kids

Emily Jacir (Arabic: أملي جاسر) is a Palestinian artist and filmmaker. She lives and works in Bethlehem, Palestine.

Early Life and Education

Emily Jacir grew up in Saudi Arabia and went to high school in Italy. She studied art at the University of Dallas and Memphis College of Art. Today, she spends her time between New York City and Bethlehem.

Art and Career

Emily Jacir is an artist who works in many different ways. She uses film, photography, installations, performance, video, writing, and sound. Her art often explores ideas of change, standing up for what's right, and forgotten stories.

She is especially interested in themes like being forced to leave home (displacement), living away from your home country (exile), and resistance. She often focuses on these topics in the context of the Palestinian situation.

Her art has been shown all over the world since 1994. She has had solo shows in big cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Beirut, and London.

Since 1999, Emily Jacir has helped build the art scene in Ramallah. She worked with important art groups like the A. M. Qattan Foundation. In 2002, she started and organized the first International Video Festival in Ramallah.

She also put together a collection of short films called "Palestinian Revolution Cinema." This collection toured in 2007. She also organized several Arab film programs in New York City. This included the first Palestinian Film Festival in 2002.

From 2006 to 2012, she was a full-time professor at the International Academy of Art Palestine. She also helped create the learning program for the Ashkal Alwan Home Workspace Program in Beirut. Emily Jacir is also the founder of Dar Yusuf Nasri Jacir for Art and Research. This is a community and art center in her family's old home in Bethlehem.

In 2023, Emily Jacir worked with artist Baha Hilo on a project called "Preserve." This project focused on fixing and taking care of olive terraces at Dar Jacir.

Awards and Honors

Emily Jacir has received many important awards for her art:

• In 2007, she won the Golden Lion for artists under 40 at the 52nd Venice Biennale. This award recognized her art about exile and the Palestinian issue.
• She also received the 2007 Prince Claus Award. This prize is given to artists whose work deals with conflict.
• In 2008, she won the Hugo Boss Prize from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. The jury praised her art for showing a culture affected by war and displacement.
• She won the Visual Arts award at the 2011 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts.
• In 2015, she was awarded the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Rome Prize Fellow in Visual Arts.
• In 2018, she won the "Curator of the Young Artist of the Year" award from the A. M. Qattan Foundation.
• In 2019, she gave the Edward Said Memorial Lecture at Princeton University.
• In 2023, she received an American Academy Arts and Letters Award in Art.
• Also in 2023, she received an honorary doctorate in art and design from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin.
• In 2024, she was awarded the Minimum Prize from Fondazione Pistoletto, Italy.

Major Artworks

Memorial to 418 Palestinian Villages Destroyed, Depopulated, and Occupied by Israel in 1948 (2001)

For this artwork, Emily Jacir invited people from different backgrounds to help. They embroidered a refugee tent with the names of Palestinian villages. These villages were affected by events in 1948. This artwork is a moving reminder of a sad event. It shows how important it is to remember and mourn what happened.

Where We Come From (2001-2003)

Emily Jacir has an American passport, which allows her to travel more freely. She asked over 30 Palestinians a question: "If I could do anything for you, anywhere in Palestine, what would it be?" Many Palestinians cannot travel easily between different areas.

She then carried out their wishes. These tasks included playing football, eating local foods, visiting a grave, or meeting family. She used her passport to travel and complete these tasks for others. The artwork showed the requests and photos of her completing them. This project showed how difficult travel is for many Palestinians. It also highlighted their hopes and desires.

Crossing Surda (2003)

This artwork came from a personal experience Emily Jacir had. She was filming her feet at a checkpoint when a soldier threatened her. This difficult experience led her to create this piece. It shows how personal events can inspire art.

Accumulations (2005)

This artwork shows Emily Jacir's skill in exploring ideas of identity. She takes personal experiences and turns them into deeper questions. Her work is seen as a modern take on "Conceptual Art."

Material for a Film (2005-ongoing)

This artwork is about Wael Zuaiter. He was a Palestinian writer living in Rome. He was sadly killed in 1972. Emily Jacir's artwork gathers many items related to his life. These include photographs, books, music, letters, and interviews. She even included a clip from a "Pink Panther" film where he had a small part. This installation helps to bring his life story to light.

Stazione (2009)

In 2009, Emily Jacir planned a public art project for the Venice Biennale. She wanted to add Arabic names to the water bus stops in Venice. This would make the route bilingual. The project aimed to show the historical connections between Venice and Arab culture. However, the Venice City Authorities stopped the project. They said it was for "political reasons." This showed how art can sometimes face challenges when it touches on sensitive topics.

Museums

Emily Jacir's art has been shown in many famous museums around the world, including:

• Museum of Modern Art in New York
• Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco
• Whitney Museum of American Art
• Whitechapel Gallery
• Modern Art Oxford
• Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University
• Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center in Ramallah
• Musee cantonal des Beaux-Arts de Lausanne

Biennales

Her work has also been featured in major international art shows called Biennales:

• Venice Biennale (2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013) in Venice, Italy
• Sharjah Biennial (2005, 2011) in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
• Sydney Biennale (2006) in Sydney, Australia
• Whitney Biennial (2004) at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City
• Gwangju Biennale (2004) in Gwangju, Korea
• Istanbul Biennale (2003) in Istanbul, Turkey
• dOCUMENTA (13) (2012) in Kassel, Germany

See also

In Spanish: Emily Jacir para niños