Spanish Class, Ramallah, April 22, 2002

Emily Jacir

Emily Jacir’s research-based practice encompasses photography, video, performance, and installation. In her work, she focuses on themes of migration, translation, exchange, and resistance relating to the history of colonization and her identity as a Palestinian living under Israeli occupation. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Golden Lion at the 2007 Venice Biennale, the 2008 Hugo Boss Prize, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Rome Prize Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. Her work has been exhibited at major museums and international exhibitions, such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, Documenta, and the Sharjah Biennial. Jacir’s work blends personal and collective histories to address the effects of political disenfranchisement on Palestinians in the occupied territories and in exile. Her best-known work, Where We Come From (2001–03), records her attempts to fulfill the personal requests of Palestinians lacking the freedom of movement to return to their homeland. In 2014 she co-founded Dar Jacir, a center for art and research in the West Bank.