Turmoil and violence have defined the lives of Palestinian people over the last few decades, yet in the midst of the chaos artists live and thrive, creating little-seen work that is a powerful response to their situation.

Gannit Ankori's Palestinian Art is the first in-depth English-language assessment of contemporary Palestinian art, and it offers an unprecedented and wholly original overview of this art in all its complexity. Ankori comprehensively traces the full history and development of Palestinian art, from its roots in folk art and traditional Christian and Islamic painting to the predominance of nationalistic themes and diverse media used today.

Drawing on over a decade of extensive research, studio visits, and interviews, Ankori explores the vast oeuvre of prominent contemporary Palestinian artists, navigating between the personal and biographical dimensions of specific artworks and the symbolic meanings embedded within them. She provides detailed interpretations of many works and considers the complex historical, geographical, political, and cultural contexts in which the art was created.

Questions of gender, exile, colonialism, postcolonialism, and hybridity are integral to Ankori's investigation as she probes the influence and thematic dominance of issues such as rootedness and displacement in Palestinian art. 

Palestinian Art is a fascinating introduction to a virtually unknown visual culture that has been subsumed under the torrent of current political turmoil. A groundbreaking and essential work of art scholarship, Palestinian Art illuminates new and unique facets of the Palestinian cultural identity.

Contents
PART I:  FOUNDATIONS
1.  Introduction: Broken Narratives and 'Dis-Orientalism'
2.  The Shadow of the Nakba: Art before 1948
3.  Exile and Memories: Art after 1948
 
PART II:  EARTH AND SKY
4.  Earth: Sliman Mansour and the Poetics of Sumud
5.  Sky: Kamal Boullata and the Quest for Light
 
PART III:  BODY AND HOME
6.  Mona Hatoum: Nomadic Bodies, Exilic Spaces
7.  Khalil Rabah's Split Self: Black Skin / White Masks
 
PART IV:  BEING ARAB IN ISRAEL
8.  Visual Voices from 'the Interior'

Reviews
"This book is an immense contribution towards giving Palestinian art the recognition it merits, both in the context of universal art and as an expression of the Palestinian people's particular experience... The first part of the book gives a fascinating glimpse of the many art forms that flourished in historical Palestine... complex and fascinating."
--The Jordan Times