28/08/2023
After a tough competition and intense rivalry, Palestine has chosen the artwork presented by Palestinian artist Walid Ayoub, along with the artwork of Suliman Mansour and Nabil Al-Anani. This comes as Palestine announced, for the first time, a memorial monument design competition to commemorate the Nakba, based on the instructions of President Mahmoud Abbas.
Palestine invited all artists, architects, designers, university students, and interested individuals in Palestine, the Arab world, and friends of Palestine to submit proposals for the design of the memorial monument that commemorates the Nakba. The design should reflect the pain that the Nakba caused our people and include elements of the Palestinian narrative related to the Nakba, refuge, struggle, and hope. The monument should be located in Independence Park, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, taking into consideration the nature of the place and the surroundings.
Commenting on this event, Palestinian artist Walid Ayoub added:
As a member of the Ministry of Culture and as a visual artist, I have visited many cities around the world, and I have always been fascinated by the monuments and memorial sites in those countries. I based my experience and thoughts in designing this project on studies and research from various countries, such as the Chinese, Vietnamese, Armenian, and other experiences.
The design of the Nakba monument was created in a way that allows it to be a platform for other artists and international contributions, including memorial statues and artistic murals. Here, I mention a specific model of the world-renowned sculptor Ahmed Al-Bahrani, as well as artworks that add many meanings from the works of colleagues and great artists Suliman Mansour and Nabil Al-Anani.
The winning works for the Nakba monument included the comprehensive and general design submitted by artist Walid Ayoub in the form of a collapsing house due to the occupation's brutality and the suffering of the Nakba and refuge. It takes the shape of a tent before its fall, in addition to artistic references of Palestinian refugee camps in the form of stakes around the tent. There was also a joint design by artists Suliman Mansour and Nabil Al-Anani in the form of paintings and murals that bear the names of the displaced cities and villages, highlighting the deep-rooted memory of Palestinians that cannot be erased.