The IPS 50th Anniversary Photo Exhibition Inaugural Ceremony and Reception

The IPS 50th Anniversary Photo Exhibition Inaugural Ceremony and Reception

Beirut, Lebanon on March 13, 2013 at 5:00pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2013

Contact: Wafa Ghnaim

Business Development Manager

Institute for Palestine Studies

202.342.3990 x13

In commemoration of its 50th anniversary, the Institute for Palestine Studies is proud to announce the opening of a photographic exhibit, titled "Palestine Before 1948: Not Just Memory," showcasing the photographs of Khalil Raad, Palestine’s first Arab photographer. The exhibit, curated by renowned artist and art historian Vera Tamari, brings together 75 gems of the Institute’s Khalil Raad Collection and 80 additional portraits by Raad’s studio from private collections. The inaugural ceremony and reception will be hosted in Beirut, Lebanon on March 13, 2013 at 5:00pm at the Nimr Foundation Building (Justinian St., Clemenceau, near Trad Hospital), with an opening address by Vice Chairman of the IPS Board of Trustees Basel Aql. The exhibition will be open daily from March 14 to April 14, 2013 from 11:00am to 6:00pm, except Mondays.

The Institute for Palestine Studies began collecting photographs in the early 1970s as a vital part of its mission to preserve the cultural heritage and historical record of the Palestinian people. The various IPS collections total over 10,000 photographs, spanning from the late 19th century to recent times, but by far the richest holdings are from the pre-1948 period. The subject matter ranges from Palestinian daily life (occupational, cultural, and leisure pursuits of all classes and population groups), through landscape and architecture, to military, public, and political activities and events. With regard to the post-1948 period, the photographs cover in particular life in refugee camps, the 1967 war, and periods of the Lebanese civil war, including the 1982 Israeli invasion.

The most important of the IPS collections is that of Khalil Raad, comprising some 3,000 photographs dating from the late 19th century to the eve of 1948. Other collections include the Jawhariyah Collection, UNRWA Collection, the Fifth of June Society Collection, the PLO Collection and more. The nearly 400 photographs showcased in Walid Khalidi’s classic Before Their Diaspora: A Photographic History of the Palestinians, 1876-1948 (first published in 1984) were all selected from the various IPS collections, including Raad’s.

For more information on the IPS photo archives and the other holdings of the Institute’s Constantine Zurayk Library, visit our website by following this link