Design in Arabic

The exhibition Design in Arabic celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Museum's Department of Design and Architecture, and is the first in the Museum's history to be entirely dedicated to artists from Israel's Arab community.

Up until a decade ago, artistically inclined students from the Arab community in Israel tended to study art or architecture; the five participants of this exhibition thus represent a new phenomenon of practitioners in the fields of design. They are part of a new generation that not only rebels against a traditional establishment, but seeks to itself become an influential, uncompromising social force.

These artists enlist the universal language of design to sound a clear and courageous voice on the most urgent issues in Arab society in Israel today – the rights of Arab women, sexuality, gender, and violence – without sidelining more traditional, national-political issues, such as the Nakba, the refugee experience, or the complex gaze on the native landscape. Instead, they offer a new prioritization of these issues. 

Designers: Sophie Abu Shakrah, Shady Francis Majlaton, Samah Batheesh, Hazar Grably, Gadeer Slayeh

	,Gadeer Slayeh, born Israel, Eilabun, 1988 Belonging?, 2023 Laser-cut and gilt brass, white mesh sleeve, brass beads, pearls  Collection of the designer
	Hazar Grably, born Israel, Jaffa, 1990 Haram, 2023 Cotton-thread embroidery and colored flocked screen print on tulle   Collection of the designer
	Samah Batheesh, born Israel, Mas'ade, 1984 Soft as Basalt, 2021 Cast brass  Collection of the designer
	Shady Francis Majlaton, born Nazareth, 1993 Motherhood, 2023 Peau d'ange and black lace  Collection of the designer
	Sophie Abu Shakra, born Israel, Umm al-Fahm, 1996 Window, 2023 CNC-machined painted MDF panel and laser-engraved plexiglass   Collection of the designer Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, by Elie Posner