The Cultural Programme
The Cultural Programme stands as a central pillar of the A. M. Qattan Foundation's contribution to building a vibrant cultural infrastructure in Palestine, grounded in the conviction that culture is not merely a form of display, but a living instrument of change and an act of liberatory knowledge-making. The Programme is dedicated to producing, developing and making available contemporary cultural knowledge and practice, deploying an integrated set of tools — exhibitions, lectures, dialogues, workshops, events and initiatives, together with the publication and translation of research — so that Palestinian communities at large, wherever they may be, are able to engage with cultural output that unsettles stereotypical thinking, offers alternative models of knowledge, and opens new intellectual horizons across the various contexts of life.
The Programme pursues this mission through its annual programming and a network of local, regional and international partnerships, marshalling its varied tools to raise and debate pressing cultural themes and issues, whether local or global in nature, so as to strengthen critical thought, research, creativity and participation, build networks, and arrive at inspiring cultural models that uphold social cohesion, pluralism and independence — models whose outcomes are intended to carry cultural, social and economic impact, and at times political weight as well.
The Programme's work is organised across four integrated strands:
The Grants and Artistic Residencies Strand serves as the arm that sustains the freedom of Palestinian cultural and artistic production, offering diverse annual grants to individuals, groups and institutions alike, wherever they are based, across the visual and performing arts, cinema, literature and creative writing, critical research, and music. The strand's working method rests on the principles of transparency and independence, operating through open calls announced via the Foundation's website and platforms, followed by an independent assessment process entrusted to specialised external judging panels — thereby enriching the Palestinian cultural landscape with new voices and experiences, and encouraging research and experimentation.
The Values Strand is responsible for designing and producing the Foundation's annual programme of public events at its centres in Ramallah and Gaza, whether produced directly or in partnership with other cultural actors, offering audiences a varied programme that encompasses poetry, the performing arts, music, cinema, dialogues, lectures and seminars, and science festivals, alongside a dedicated food culture strand — making the Foundation's premises a living space where audiences meet cultural production.
The Community Participation Strand works in tandem with the Values Strand to widen the Programme's sphere of impact, developing cultural productions that draw new and diverse audiences, and building frameworks for learning and interaction through a range of events and activities, while deepening public awareness of the Foundation and its spaces. This strand also carries these experiences into wider geographies, active in Ramallah in partnership with the neighbourhood committee and with children across various areas, and in Gaza through an outreach service embodied in the Mobile Library and the Friendly Areas.
The Libraries Strand manages the Foundation's two library spaces in Ramallah and Gaza, and oversees their cultural and intellectual programming, enriching the learning process with sources of knowledge in diverse forms and fields, and offering supporting services that stimulate reading, enquiry and research, thereby creating an environment conducive to the Programme's mission of fostering dialogue, critical thought, and creative and intellectual production. The strand operates at two levels: the first serving the general public across all age groups in Ramallah, and the second dedicated to young people and children in Gaza.
This strand extends beyond the walls of the Qattan Centre for Culture in Gaza, through two projects — the Mobile Library (2015) and the Friendly Areas (2009) — the fruit of a partnership between the Foundation, as a civil society institution, and the private sector, aimed at broadening the cultural, artistic and creative horizons of children in areas far from the centre, by instilling a love of reading and self-directed learning, offering them exposure to the arts, and providing an interactive, educational environment supportive of their development. The project targets children up to the age of fifteen, and constitutes a vital opportunity for thousands of them across the Gaza Strip through a library holding a curated collection of books and stories drawn from a range of publishers and libraries, accompanied by cultural and artistic activities including "Al-Hakawati" storytelling sessions, free reading, film screenings, thinking games, folk games, and artistic activities.