Cultural Protection Fund (CPF) Director Stephanie Grant and Grant Manager Raechel Beardwood visited CPF projects in Jerusalem and the West Bank in December 2024. Here, Stephanie reflects on a visit full of warmth, hospitality and cultural heritage protection work taking place under extremely challenging circumstances:
Ever since I joined the Cultural Protection Fund as a Grant Manager in 2019, I have been keen to learn more about the history and heritage of Palestinians and the challenges they face. However, I always thought that this learning would have to be from a distance.
Over five years later, as Director of the fund, I had the opportunity to visit some of the grantees and projects which CPF has supported across Jerusalem and the West Bank, with Grant Manager Raechel Beardwood, who oversees the management of our projects in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
We are very grateful to the British Council’s Arts Programme Manager Rosa Pérez, who curated a packed programme across the West Bank of site visits, meetings and cultural experiences for us.
In the villages of Qalandiya, Beit Hanina and Kufr Aqab, we saw how CPF grantees Riwaq have turned crumbling heritage sites into vibrant spaces where local artists, cultural practitioners and the community can come together to engage with their heritage.
At the Palestinian Museum in Birzeit, we visited the paper conservation studio which was the first of its kind in the West Bank. Led by the Welfare Association, this was one of the first projects I interacted with in 2018 as a CPF grant manager, so seeing how it has developed was hugely impressive.
Our visit coincided with an event marking the 37th anniversary of the First Intifada and the unveiling of the murals which were created by the four pioneering artists who founded the ‘New Visions’ group 35 years ago. According to the Palestinian Museum website, the murals, which are now part of the permanent display at the museum, ‘...remind us of the revolutionary moments of thought, and reinforce that experimentation and creativity are ongoing forces - essences of life itself.’
We also saw the poignant This is Not an Exhibition of works by artists from Gaza, displayed around a huge pile of ‘rubble’, created as a physical reminder of the destruction caused by the latest war on Gaza.
On our first evening in Ramallah, Rosa took us to a music jam session at the Palestine Music Space, a haven for young musicians in a historic building in the downtown area. Some of the musicians had only been performing for a few months, but they came to the space to learn, socialise and to create some wonderful music.
In the Old City of Jerusalem we met with CPF partner Taawon, which has a remarkable track record in restoring heritage and engaging communities and has previously revitalised parts of the Old City with a CPF grant. The team at Taawon took us to the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, where we saw the infamous Dome of the Rock, the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture.
One of the highlights of our trip was the visit to Khalidi library in the Old City of Jerusalem, where the Khalidi family traces its history back to the seventh century AD. Established in 1900, the library includes one of the largest private collections of Arabic manuscripts in the world. Support from CPF has helped to transform the library from a closed and neglected place to a lively and active cultural heritage landmark, however there is more to be done.
We met members of the Premiere Urgence International (PUI) team at the École Biblique, the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, which has partnered with PUI on a project that CPF has supported since 2016. PUI’s impressive work on this project includes the ruins of Saint Hilarion, one of the oldest monasteries in the Middle East, now inscribed under enhanced protection by UNESCO. The team also works with people in both Gaza and the West Bank to document and safeguard their intangible heritage, which is equally valuable and at risk during times of conflict.
Our visit to Bethlehem was a surreal experience. Tourism has declined dramatically since the start of the war in late 2023 and the streets were empty. In Bethlehem, we met with CPF partners the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation who presented to us their detailed report on the destruction of heritage in Gaza, funded by the CPF.
Led by the indomitable artist and activist Emily Jacir, the 19th Century Dar Jacir House has been supported by CPF to protect its rare archival collection. Dar Jacir House is like a museum, filled with artefacts and memories, but is also a place for artists to reflect and develop their work.
One of our newest CPF projects protecting Palestinian heritage is led by Sakiya, who have been working to restore a beautiful ancient shrine in the village of Ein Qinya. We visited the shrine, on top of a rewilded hillside, and heard how this important space for local communities faces intense attacks from nearby settlements.
The warm welcome and hospitality from all the CPF partners we met in Jerusalem and the West Bank was matched only by what they have achieved in unthinkable circumstances.
Our visit reiterated to us the precious and fragile state of Palestinian cultural heritage and the need for its protection and recovery. The Cultural Protection Fund is committed to continuing its support of this vital work.
