Laureate of The Palestine Prize for Art 2021
Sliman Mansour
Date of Birth:
Place of Birth:
Art becomes tasteless when it does not belong to its original environment.”—Sliman Mansour
1947 Born in Birzeit, Palestine
1967-1970 Studied fine arts at Bezalel Art Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem
1979 Co-founder of “Gallery 79” the first art gallery in Palestine.
1979-1982 Head of the League of Palestinian Artists.
1974-1983 Art teacher, Women’s Teachers Training Center (Al-Tireh)
1983-1985 Birzeit University – Project for promoting Palestinian handicrafts.
1985-1987 Co-author of Palestinian Folk Costumes1982 and Palestinian Embroidery1984, published by the Committee of popular Palestinian heritage Ina ‘ash Al-Usrah society – Al-Bireh
1987- present Board of directors/ Palestinian National Theatre, Jerusalem
1980-1992 Political cartoonist, English Al-Fajr, Al-Awdah magazine, Jerusalem
1986-1990 Head of the League of Palestinian Artists.
1991 Co-founder of the “New Visions” art group.
1992 Founding member of Al-Wasiti Art Centre, Jerusalem
1995-2001 Director of Al-Wasiti Art Centre, Jerusalem.
1995-2007 Director at the Palestinian Ministry of culture.
1998 Co-founder of the “Archive of Palestinian art” project.
2001-2003 Art teacher at Al Quds University
2004 Co-founder and head of the “Palestinian Contemporary Art Association”
2005 Co-founder of “Artists without Walls” Israeli and Palestinian Artists.
2005-present Board member of the International Art Academy – Palestine
2005-present Board member of “Al-Hosh” art society for establishing an art museum in
Palestine, Jerusalem.
2007 Acting Executive Director of the International Art Academy-Palestine
2019 The Sharjah UNESCO prize
1998 Palestine Prize for the Visual Arts.
1998 Grand Prize of the Cairo Biennial.
2021 Palestine Prize, Laureate of the Art.
Solo Exhibitions:
1981 Sliman Mansour Exhibition – Gallery 79 – Ramallah.
1992 Roots – United Nations – New York, USA.
1995 Suleiman Mansour – Al Sharja Biennial – Al Sharja.
1996 Palestinian Art, Suleiman Mansour – City Hall – Stavanger, Norway.
1998 I Ismael – Cairo Biennial, Cairo.
2001 Ten Years in Mud – solo traveling exhibition shown in Ramallah, Nazareth, and Gaza.
2003 The Fabric of Memory – Al Sharja Museum – UAE.
2007 “Sketches” – Almamal Gallery-Jerusalem/Old City
2011 Alhoush art court
2011 Isaaf Nashashibi cultural center
Selected Group Exhibitions:
1975 The first group exhibition of Palestinian Art under occupation – YMCA Jerusalem
1978 International Exhibition for a Museum in Palestine – Beirut, Lebanon.
1980 State museum of oriental arts. Moscow. USSR.
1981 Kunsternes Hus. Oslo, Norway
1982 Down with Occupation -Israeli and Palestinian artists, Jerusalem
1983 13th Arab Biennial/ Kuwait.
1987 Stop the Occupation – Israeli and Palestinian artists, Artists House -Jerusalem
1988 It’s Possible – Cooper Union, New York. USA
1990 Art Under Occupation – City Hall – Salerno, Italy
1990 Occupation and Resistance – the Alternative Museum, New York, USA
1991 New Visions – The Jordanian National Gallery – Amman, Jordan.
1992 Seven Artists from The Occupied Territories – Shoman Foundation, Amman, Jordan
1992 Suleiman Mansour and Israel Rabinowitz – Nora Latin, ABF- Stockholm, Sweden.
1994 Building Bridges – Meridian House – Washington, D.C. USA.
1996 Building Bridges – Ministry of Culture – Luxembourg, Belgium.
1997 Palestinian Spring – Institute du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
1998 50 years of Nakbah – Nazareth.
1999 Palestinian Artists today–Drammens Museum, Norway
2000 Kwangu Biennial – South Korea.
2002 Sao Paulo Biennial – Brazil.
2003 35 artists against the Occupation. Israeli and Palestinian artists. Jaffa -Jerusalem
2003 Made in Palestine – the Station Museum-Houston, Texas (traveling show).
2004 Colors of Life and Resistance – UNESCO – Paris, France.
2005 Virtual Book – Library of Alexandria, Egypt.
2005 Three Cities against the Wall – Tel-Aviv, New York, Hebron.
2006 Palestinian Art –Um Al-Fahem Gallery, Um Al-Fahem
2007 Santa’s Ghetto –Bethlehem Manger square.
“One of the most important reasons for the artist’s success is his belief in a cause.”
“After listening to the testimonies of many Palestinian artists about their childhood after the Nakba and under the Occupation, I believe that true talent emerges in defiance of all the forces of oppression, subjugation, and denial.”
“Art becomes tasteless when it does not belong to its original environment.”