BETHLEHEM ART AND CRAFT GALLERY

Alquds university

Project idea

the idea is to create space in the square of the Church of the Nativity, through an enjoyable experience, a journey that takes the visitor on an integrated and sequential path within the project, which consists of Horizontal and Vertical planes (the choice of the plane's element was based on its employment as panels for displaying art projects and as inspiration from the apartheid wall, which is considered a panel for painting the graphic). designed harmoniously together to form void zones: (workshops, art museums, markets and famous bazaars, etc.) linking each other with smooth paths.

The project consists of a group of stations (zones), each of which gives a different impression/feeling/experience to the visitor,
The project begins with the (spirituality zone), where an old heritage house has been Restored as a religious museum. It dives underground to give the visitor a sense of calm, meditation, and spirituality.

Then the journey takes you out of the darkness into the light, where in front of you is a facade of the craft building (the workshop), to complete the experience of contemplating the craftsmen creating masterpieces, where you can interact with them through the experience of carving on wood and taking a souvenir sample from the place.
(Commercial Zone): Then you go down to the Amphitheater where peddlers sit. You continue the path to see the exhibition of food stalls and handicrafts, which encourages tourists to integrate with the locals, to live a Real human experience with the people of the old town, and to support its local economy.
Tourists complete their way with the locals to live the following experience: (Social Zone), where there is a restaurant, and a theater showing the history of arts and documenting them through showing them in educational and documentary films.

Project description

Thousands of tourists visit the city of Bethlehem -Palestine each year in their sense of its religious and spiritual value, where the Church of the Nativity is located, but the other striking target is their interest in its high artistic and craft value... Arts and crafts are the language of communication between the people of the city, linked to all aspects of their lives, telling their story and simulating their original identity It is a piece of their soul, which enters into their religion, where throughout history the monk taught the people of the city the origins of crafts and the art of religious icons, Then it is part of their social and cultural lives.
Today, it is their brush with which they paint their freedoms, opinions, dreams, and life events, with Graffiti drawings. In the end, it is their method of resistance and proof of the Palestinian presence
On the other hand, the number of craftsmen and artists in the old town decreased, and the shops closed their doors and their owners left them. Tourists no longer see the human experience in the old city. Rather, it has become a short visit to the church and then they leave it. Art and crafts are on their way to oblivion, and the original artistic heritage is disappearing.

Technical information

Through the combination of environmentally friendly and local Palestinian materials," local stone planes, with concrete planes inspired by the apartheid wall material (in Bethlehem), to reflect the contrast between the two materials (expressing the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israeli occupation on the lands of Bethlehem- Palestine.