My Name is Palestine - Exhibit Information

My Name is Palestine:
Echoes from The Palestinian Museum’s Online MUSIC Exhibit أنا إسمي شعب فلسطين “Ana Ismi Shab Falastin”

May 2 - 30, 2026
Southern Exposure
San Francisco

Co-curated by Ahmad Alaqra and Leyya Mona Tawil,
in collaboration with video artist Mohammad Tatour

Co-Produced by Southern Exposure, The Palestinian Museum, and Arab.AMP

exhibit audio in sequence

"My Name is the Palestinian People” (Anā Ismī Shaʿbu Filisṭīn) (1981). George Kirmiz.
“Sabbal ‘Uyūnu” (1980s). Palestinian Popular Arts Troupe. From cassette recordings of the ensemble’s early repertoire.
“Arīsna Zayn al-Shabāb” (The Groom is the Pride of Youth). Palestinian Popular Arts Troupe. 1980s cassette recording.
Ghad”ab al-Sha'ab (The Anger of the People) (1987). Julia Boutros Produced in collaboration with Ali al-Kilani.
Field recordings of processions for Nabi Mousa season (1994). Centre for Popular arts.
Instrumental recording produced inside the Israeli prison of Jalboua (2010–2012). The oud heard in this piece was constructed in captivity by Palestinian prisoners using improvised and smuggled materials, including wood from chess and backgammon tables, concealed strings, and repurposed everyday prison objects such as broom handles, kettle lids, wooden utensils, and metal fittings taken from workshop remnants. The idea of building the instrument emerged through an encounter between prisoners Walid Daqqa and Fidaa al-Shaer, and evolved into a collective process of design, adaptation, and experimentation within the constraints of incarceration. Initial attempts produced makeshift string instruments that gradually developed into an oud-like form. Through this process, the prisoners transformed the surrounding objects into tools for sound-making, reconfiguring the prison environment into a site of sonic production and resistance. The recording was made using smuggled equipment inside the prison, capturing the sound of the self-made oud as it was played within this constrained but generative space. Courtesy of Amjad Ghannam and Walid Daqqa Family
Voice-over of prisoner Hassan Karajah reading a letter he wrote to the Ma3azef Music platform while still in prison (2026). Courtesy of Hassan Karajah.
“Sheikh Jarrah” (2021). Daboor, produced by Al Nather & Taymour. Video. Courtesy of BLTNM.

My Name is Palestine · My Name is Palestine / Selected Audio

EXHIBIT Videos as they appear sequentially

► A video documenting the participation of international solidarity activists alongside Palestinian women in the International Feminist March for Human Rights at the Israeli Qalandia checkpoint. The video includes scenes from workshops and discussions held on the margins of the event. Here, the voice moves beyond its local boundaries to encompass bodies and voices arriving from outside Palestine, within a collective act shaped by a multiplicity of sounds, languages, and affiliations, placing singing and movement at the center of a cross-border practice of solidarity.
Video, 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 8 seconds.  Courtesy of the General Union of Palestinian Women Collection, Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.

►  At the wedding procession of groom Bilal Odeh in Salfit in 1986, the zajjal Rajeh al-Salifti, the groom’s grandfather, leads the celebration through the singing of popular zajal songs. Here, zajal appears as part of the everyday rituals of joy as practiced in Palestinian weddings, a tradition that continues to this day in some Palestinian regions.  Zajal is an old form of popular vocal singing, passed down across generations. Rooted in colloquial poetry, it is performed within a living social setting, sometimes shaped in the moment and at other times drawn from familiar and circulating forms. It unfolds through interaction with place and people, whether voiced by a single singer or through poetic exchange. This tradition encompasses multiple styles, including ataaba, mijana, and shruqi, among others—forms closely associated with weddings and celebratory occasions, transmitted orally as part of everyday life rather than through written texts or pre-staged performances.
The Wedding Procession of Bilal Odeh, 1986. Video, 2 hours, 54 minutes, and 20 seconds.  Courtesy of the Rajeh al-Salifti Collection, Palestinian Museum Digital Archive

►  Sabal UYūnuh is a folkroic that moves between celebration and grief, sung at weddings and in honour of Martyrs. The version here is performed by Al Juthour Band in 1988 and was broadcasted by the Syrian National TV.
Sabal UYūnuh, 1988. Video. 4 minutes.  Courtesy of Fadi Abd Al Hadi.

►  Two excerpts taken from an archival video of a performance in which Rajeh Al- Salfiti was singing during a wedding, 1986.
Video, Two hours. Courtesy of Rajeh Al-Salfiti Family.

►  Excerpts from a performance featuring several Palestinian poets and singers in front of a crowd; location and date are unknown.
Video, 1 hour and 53 minutes. Courtesy of Rajeh Al-Salfiti Family.

►  Two excerpts from the music video Urgent Call for Palestine, performed by Zeinab Shaath and shot by Ismail Shammout, featuring an interview with Kamal Nasser, spokesperson of the Palestine Liberation Organization at the time. The video is considered one of the earliest music videos produced and performed by Palestinians.
Urgent Call for Palestine (1973). Video, 4 minutes and 18 seconds.  Courtesy of Bashar Shammout.

►  Excerpt from a live performance by the band Al-‘Ashiqeen in Aden, Yemen, 1983. The excerpt features singer Mohammad al-Habash, then a teenager, performing the song “Ishhad Ya ‘Alam”, dedicated to the 1982 siege of Beirut by Israeli occupation forces.
Ishhad Ya ‘Alam (1983). Video, 1 hour and 47 minutes. Courtesy of Abdullah Al-Khatib and Al-‘Ashiqeen Band.

► Excerpt from a weeping performance by dancer Yasmin Abd al-Hadi. The performance features the voice of singer Maya al-Khalidi, who, together with producer Sarouna Mushasha, reinterpreted a folkloric mourning song traditionally used in rituals of grief and remembrance.
Bukayat (2023). Video, 6 minutes and 3 seconds. Courtesy of the Palestinian Museum.

Images and Archival materials

"Jerusalem is Liberated at the Funeral of Omar al-Qasim", a Newspaper Clipping, June 1989. Courtesy of The Omar Al-Qasim and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
The IOF Standing on the Walls of the al-Asbat Gate Wall, Jerusalem, June 1989. Photograph. Courtesy of The Omar Al-Qasim and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
The Funeral of Shaheed Omar al-Qasim at al-Aqsa Mosque, 6 June 1989. Photograph. Courtesy of The Omar Al-Qasim and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Masses Raising Flags and Signs at the Funeral of Shaheed Omar al-Qasim, Jerusalem, 6 June 1989. Photograph. Courtesy of The Omar Al-Qasim and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
The Palestinian Wedding, Fathi Ghabn. 1999. Oil on canvas.
Women singing at a wedding, 1969. Photograph. Courtesy of The Subhy Family Collection and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
The Martyr, Mustafa al-Hallaj. Woodcut on paper. 1969. 44 × 95 cm.
Masked Men at the Funeral of Shaheed Omar al-Qasim, Jerusalem, 6 June 1989. Photograph. Courtesy of the Omar al-Qasim and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Photograph of the Wedding of Nahla and Nazih Qourah, David Photo Studio, 1973. Photograph. Courtesy of the Nahla Qourah Collection and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Shakib Jahshan’s Wedding, Nazareth, 1964. Photograph. Courtesy of the Shakib Jahshan Collection and and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Shakib Jahshan’s and Georgette’s Wedding, Nazareth, 1964. Photograph. Courtesy of the Shakib Jahshan Collection and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Mourners Raising the Casket of Shaheed Omar al-Qasim, Jerusalem, 6 June 1989. Photograph. Courtesy of the Omar al-Qasim Collection and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Mustafa Uthman’s Wedding, Beit Safafa, 23 December 1978. Photograph. Courtesy of the Mustafa Othman Collection and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Palestinians Performing Dabkeh at a Wedding, al-Rameh village, 1969. Photograph. The Rula Jeries Collection and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Palestinian Wedding Along the Separation Fence, Beit Safafa village, 1962. Photograph. The Mustafa Othman Collection and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Wedding Ceremony in Dheisheh Palestinian Refugee Camp, 1989. Photograph. The Nidal Abu Aker Collection and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Embroidery by Palestinian women at Yarmouk Refugee Camp, early 1980s. Embroidery on fabric.
The Martyr, Faten Toubasi, 1989. Oil on canvas.
This collection comprises one hundred cassette tapes assembled by Mahdi Qirresh over decades of work at his shop, “Nujum al-Fann”, in the Old City of Jerusalem. Qirresh was born in Jerusalem in 1955 and opened the shop in 1972, continuing to run it himself ever since, maintaining the sale, acquisition, and preservation of tapes despite shifts in media formats and the decline of the cassette market. The collection includes recordings of old songs, anthems, and Qur’anic recitations by prominent reciters, among them Mustafa Ismail and Muhammad Rif‘at, alongside musical and popular materials that circulated in Jerusalem and Palestine. These tapes emerged from an ongoing daily practice tied to the shop and its owner, and contributed to the preservation of sound materials that are no longer easily accessible in public circulation. Despite economic and technological challenges, and despite cassettes having fallen out of everyday use and lost their functional value, Qirresh has continued to keep this collection within the shop, refusing to relinquish or sell it, and maintaining it as part of his life trajectory, memory, and personal archive. The Palestinian Museum Permanent Collection
The Procession, Sliman Mansour, 2016. Oil on canvas.
Selection of Artistic and Revolutionary Posters, 1875–2012. Posters. A collection of political, cultural, and revolutionary posters produced by Palestinian organizations and exhibitions, documenting historical periods, political events, and expressions of the Palestinian cause locally and globally. The complete collection contains 437 items. Courtesy of the Ali Kazak Collection and Palestinian Museum Digital Archive.
Photographs of the Nabi Musa Festival, Frank Scholten, 1921–1923. Photographs. Courtesy of Leiden University Special Collections.
Parallel Time, Amjad Ghanam, 2012. Oil on canvas.
Excerpts from the musical play “The Forgotten in Parallel Time”, written in Jalboua Prison, mid-July 2012. On the opening page: melody composition by Fidaa al-Shaer; scenario by Walid Daqqa; proofreading by Ameer Makwel; smuggled outside the prison by H.Z.
Untitled, Mohammad al-Rakoui. 1973–1986. Dry ink on pillowcases. Produced in Ashkelon Prison during incarceration. Courtesy of the artist.
Letter from prisoner Hassan Karajah to the Ma3azef Music platform, Ofra Prison, 2017. Courtesy of Hassan Karajah.
Sabra and Shatila Massacre, Dia Al-Azzawi. 1982–83. Ink and wax crayon on paper mounted on canvas, 300 x 750 cm. Courtesy of Tate: purchased with funds provided by Tate Members, Tate International Council, Tate Middle East North Africa Acquisitions Committee and the Basil and Raghida Al-Rahim Fund 2014.