THE PROJECT
THE EXHIBITION
PHOTOS/NARRATIVES
IN THE MEDIA
CONTACT
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become one of the most important issues facing the world today - yet what do we really know about the conflict beyond the bloody images on the nightly news? Few other things fuel so much global tensions and violence - but how many of us have met someone who lives the terror everyday? “This Land To Me, Some Call it Palestine, Others Israel” is a new approach to exploring these questions through a collection of first person narratives and photographs of Israelis and Palestinians from all walks of life.
This land creates a provocative yet human portrait of the Israel/Palestine conflict. In answering a single question – What does this land mean to you? – ordinary citizens from both sides break down myths and stereotypes with their candid, poignant responses. In each photo, one person is looking directly into the camera, as if looking directly into the viewer’s eye.
With support from the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the initial body of work – 6 Israelis and 6 Palestinians – culminated in a traveling exhibit that has been shown at the Sherry Frumkin Gallery in Santa Monica, CA, the Godwin-Ternbach Museum at Queens College, New York, the Kansas City Public Library, Kansas and international photography biennial FotoFest, Houston. In collaboration with the Michael Harrington Center for Democratic Values and Social Change, “This Land” became the basis for a New York state high school curriculum, using both the exhibit and supplemental educational materials.
“This Land” was conceived by photojournalist Barbara Grover. She has made several trips to the Middle East -- from the Gaza Strip to the Lebanese border – to photograph and interview subjects for this project.