Europe's first museum of contemporary Palestinian art opens in Edinburgh this weekend. The Palestine Museum in Scotland is based at 13a Dundas Street in Edinburgh’s New Town, with a team of dedicated volunteers working hard to be ready for the grand opening on Saturday, May 17.
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00:00I headed along to Europe's first Museum of Contemporary Palestinian Art, which opens in Edinburgh on Saturday, May the 17th.
00:10As the first museum of its kind in Europe, this innovative institution promises to redefine the narrative around Palestinian identity, art and resilience.
00:20I spoke to the man behind this new permanent Edinburgh attraction, Faisal Saleh, who explained why it's coming to Edinburgh.
00:28I started the museum in the U.S. in 2018, about seven years ago.
00:34And we had planned all along to expand the museum into other areas within the U.S. and also abroad.
00:45So we got delayed by the pandemic for a few years, but then now we're coming to do that.
00:52And we were looking at places, Ireland, Dublin was one of our initial targets, where we thought we would replace the Israeli embassy that was closed down there with the Palestine Museum.
01:06Everybody was excited about it.
01:08But we got a lot of pushback from the owners of the building, and they decided to put that aside for a while.
01:14Are you happy to be here in Edinburgh?
01:17I came here in February.
01:19And this was the first place I checked out at an appointment.
01:23And then I looked at the, I was very pleased with the layout of the space.
01:29Also, the town is really big on culture.
01:32There are huge festivals in August, like three festivals at the same time, hundreds of thousands of people.
01:41And there is a good, solid support for Palestinians, for the Palestinian narrative among the people in the town.
01:50Located at 13A Dundas Street in Edinburgh's Newtown, the Palestine Museum in Scotland offers a diverse collection of thought-provoking exhibitions aiming to challenge perceptions, foster empathy and celebrate the richness of Palestinian culture.
02:08Faisal told me more about what people can expect, and he urged locals to come along and see for themselves.
02:17What we have to show is, first of all, artwork by Palestinians of a variety of types.
02:27You know, there's some abstract art like the one behind you by one of the very renowned Palestinian artists.
02:35There is artwork by emerging artists that are young and up-and-coming.
02:42There are sculptures, there are installation art.
02:46There is artwork from people who are now living in Gaza.
02:51We will be screening films and other cultural activities, music and dance, and we've given people a sample of that.
03:01On May 1st, we held a small fundraiser at one of the churches in town, and we brought in a couple of singers from Palestine.
03:13One was an opera singer, actually.
03:15So, we think we are in a position to give people an idea of who the Palestinians are, and what they like, and what is our narrative, and why we're here.
03:29You know, we're here because in the West in general, the Palestinians have been dehumanised in a way.
03:39Our important points have been ignored, our negatives have been emphasised.
03:46The Palestine Museum in Scotland opens on Saturday, May the 17th.
03:50It will then be open Wednesday to Sunday every week, 11am until 6pm.
03:55The Palestine Museum in Scotland
03:58.